Like Season Two, Season Three suffered from issues with momentum. Season Three was no different from the first two seasons in that a middle stretch of about four episodes left me feeling cold, distanced, and unfocused from the main plotline. The most notable offender here is “Stranger in a Strange Land,” possibly the worst episode of LOST (it’s on the list with “Fire + Water”). What made this episode such a clunker? Setting aside the dreadful guest appearance of Bai Ling, the main plot grinds to a halt, characters like Isabel are introduced with terrific import but are never seen again, and we get an answer to a central mystery – Jack’s tattoos – before being told that the answer we have isn’t the real answer. It’s no wonder that after this episode and the “Hurley fixes a car” incident (which, despite the episode’s overall faults, was at least entertaining and fun to watch) the powers that be beseeched ABC to allow an end date to be set for LOST.
It’s evident when that conversation was had, since Season Three picks up steam like nobody’s business once Locke meets up with The Others. For two seasons now, we’ve learned that Locke is somehow special, but this season really let us know how special he was. The Others have been expecting him once they learned about his former paralysis, and we the audience are left wondering why the island would be so choosy about healing Locke and not Ben. Jacob, heretofore named and never seen, makes an appearance, and it’s evident that he is suffering some kind of grave mistreatment, so much so that he beseeches Locke for help. Locke’s destiny seems fully in check when an apparition of Walt – the smoke monster? the island? – appears and prevents him from killing himself, claiming, “You’ve got work to do.” Locke’s destiny appears to be to save the island from the freighter people, since his first act is to attack Naomi and seemingly kill her. (Perhaps, then, this is why Ben’s actions at the end of Season Four don’t really work. An analysis for another time.)
It seems almost difficult to believe that Season Three and Season One come from the same show, but the series has always been a little bit like Alice’s rabbit hole that leads her to Wonderland – as we fall deeper, the world looks less like the one we left, but it feels natural, as though all this belongs together. With the introduction of the flashforward technique, LOST takes a giant step back from the viewers who thought they had it all figured out; some of the survivors, we learn, will make it off the island. But all that glitters is not gold, and for once, Ben might be telling the truth when he says that the freighter will initiate “the beginning of the end.” Now that The Others have had their little war with the survivors, it seems they’ll have to band together against a new group of Hostiles – only this time, there’s something larger than just The Dharma Initiative at stake.
And now for our Questions roundup: Of our 123 lingering questions, 40 have now been answered, leaving 83 still remaining (these 83 will continue to carry over to subsequent roundups until they are answered). In Season Three, I asked 121 questions, 51 of which were answered within the season; this leaves 65 questions for future seasons to answer. That brings our running total of lingering questions to 148. As with last season, I decided to be a smartass and asked five questions that were completely useless.
Asked and Answered – Lingering Questions:
- Why hasn’t anyone come to rescue them? – It seems that someone has.
- How the heck did a polar bear get on this island? (Hint: it’s not “Bear Village,” as Sawyer says.) – The Dharma people brought them for science experiments at The Hyda.
- How did Locke become paralyzed? – His father pushed him out of an eighth-story window.
- What’s the deal with Jack and his tattoos? – Jack got them in Thailand in one of the most useless flashback sequences.
- Who was the original Sawyer? – Anthony Cooper, Locke’s father.
- What’s the cable for? – It connects The Looking Glass to the island.
- Where is Alex? – She’s living with The Others as Ben’s daughter.
- There’s a polar bear in Walt’s comic book. There’s more than one polar bear on the island. Coincidence? – It would seem so.
- What’s the story behind Kate’s short marriage? – She was married to a police officer, but it was too hard for her to keep lying to Mr. Nice Guy, so she bailed.
- If Frank Duckett wasn’t the real Sawyer, who was? – Anthony Cooper
- Where did Sam Toomey learn The Numbers? – According to Lostpedia (I guess I missed this), “Leonard Simms and Sam Toomey served together at a listening post monitoring long wave transmission in the Pacific. Sam heard a voice repeating the Numbers.”
- Why is it so important for Sawyer to be on the raft? He claims it’s because there’s nothing on the island, but there has to be something deeper, right? – He has a daughter.
- What does Sun have to be punished for? – She cheated on her husband.
- Why is “QUARANTINE” stamped on the hatch door? – The people in the hatch have been told that an illness is running rampant on the island.
- If Cooper has conned people before, is he the original Sawyer? – Yes.
- How many Others are there? – There’s a whole civilization of them.
- Whatever happened with Hurley and Starla? – Starla ran away with Johnny.
- How do The Others know the names of those on the plane? – The Flame, Mikhail’s station, has a satellite dish with intel-gathering capabilities.
- Who decides who a good person is to put their names on a list? – Jacob.
- Who was Sarah’s lover? – Some dude.
- Why is Locke so interested in Sawyer’s name? – I think we can infer that Locke knows “Tom Sawyer” was one of his father’s aliases.
- How do The Others know the names of all the 815ers? Was it simply Ethan reporting back? – Mikhail gathered the names from The Flame.
- Where did all the things in Claire’s nursery come from, and why couldn’t Ethan explain them? – Now that we know The Others were in possession of a submarine, it’s safe to say they came from off the island.
- Are The Others members of The Dharma Initiative? – No: they’re all dead.
- Why were The Others interested in Claire’s baby? – No one’s had a baby on the island in years.
- Did Sun and Jae Lee have an affair? – Yep.
- Who’s the father – Jin or Jae Lee? – Jin.
- Did the island cure Jin’s infertility like it cured Locke’s paralysis? – Sure did, Betty Sue.
- What was Jack doing in Thailand? – Collecting himself and getting tattoos.
- What’s the so-called Henry Gale’s real name? – Benjamin Linus.
- Who does “Henry Gale” answer to? – At times, he seems to answer to Jacob, though other times he acts totally independent.
- Why won’t The Others turn over Walt? – They believe Walt is special.
- Why did Christian choose the name “Sarah” for Ana Lucia? Is this a reference to Jack’s wife? – It could be. It’s never really stated whether Christian had an affair with Sarah, but it’s probably unlikely. It is, however, almost certainly a reference to Sarah Shephard.
- Was “Henry” really coming for Locke? – His chief interest seems to have been in Jack, but he became interested in Locke later.
- Who did Christian go to Australia to see? – Claire, his daughter.
- Who was in The Pearl recently? – The Others have been using The Pearl, especially Ben, Juliet, and Tom.
- What’s in “the room” where Walt was being held? – It’s likely that this was in Room 23, the brainwashing room where Karl stayed.
- Did the system failure crash Oceanic 815? – Yes, although there’s probably some destiny at play, too.
- What happened when the failsafe was triggered? – The skies turn purple, and an electromagnetic burst was issued.
- Did the two Portuguese men find the island? If so, how did they know to look for electromagnetic activity? – It would seem so, though Penny claims the freighter isn’t working for her.
Asked and Answered – Season 3:
- Why did The Others draw blood from their captives? – They’re checking the women to see if they’re pregnant, but it’s not certain why they’re testing men, too.
- What’s going to happen in the next two weeks that Ben says will be unpleasant? – Ben is manipulating Jack by using Kate and Sawyer.
- What hatch is Jack imprisoned in, and what was its original function? – The Hydra, a zoological research facility on a whole ’nother island.
- Are the bears that Tom mentions the island’s polar bears? – Yep.
- How did Juliet get a dossier on Jack? – Mikhail at The Flame with the satellite dish (it sounds like a game of Clue, don’t it?).
- What happened to The Dharma Initiative if The Others are controlling their stations now? – Ben “purged” them.
- Who built the dock? – The Dharma Initiative.
- What’s Alex’s connection to Karl? – They’re sweet on each other.
- How did Ben get a recording of the Red Sox winning the World Series? – Mikhail. Flame. Satellite dish.
- What does Boone mean that Charlie and Claire will be all right “for a while”? – Charlie is fated to die on the island.
- According to Locke’s dream, who is in danger? – Eko.
- Can Desmond really see the future? – Yes, but only bits and pieces, like a jigsaw puzzle.
- Whose spinal X-rays are up in the Others’ medical station? – Ben.
- What station did Locke see? – The Flame.
- Who is the Eyepatch Man? – Mikhail Bakunin, an Other gathering information from off the island.
- Why does Juliet want Ben dead? – Ben won’t let her leave.
- Who’s Alex’s boyfriend? – Karl.
- What will Locke find up north? – The Flame.
- Why does Ben ask after Alex before surgery? – He seems to have adopted Alex; at any rate, she believes he’s her father.
- Will Jack let Ben die? – Nah, he wouldn’t. He’d cry too much.
- What did the injections meant to do for Rachel? – Make her pregnant.
- What’s Ben and Juliet’s “history”? – Ben won’t let Juliet leave the island.
- What’s going on in Room 23? – Brainwashing of some sort, as evident by Karl’s delusional mutterings.
- Why would the purple skies prevent The Others from taking Ben to an off-island facility? – The electromagnetic anomaly knocked out the homing beacon, so The Others could never find their way back to the island if they left.
- Can Desmond really see the future? – Still yes.
- Can Desmond change the future or not? – He can change specific details, but he only postpone the big picture.
- Where did the Dharma van come from? – The Dharma people left it when they all died.
- Who’s “Roger Work Man”? – Surprise! He’s Ben’s dad.
- Why didn’t the Dharma people get to finish their dirt road? – Ben killed them all.
- What killed the members of The Dharma Initiative? – Some sort of island-wide gas attack launched by Ben and The Hostiles.
- How does Mikhail know what he knows about the survivors of Flight 815? – That big old satellite dish isn’t as broken as he says it is.
- How did the sonic fence get on the island? – The Dharma Initiative built it.
- What does Locke have planned for the C-4 in his bag? – He’s going to blow up the submarine.
- Why did Locke blow up The Flame? – He’s eliminating anything that could reunite him with his father.
- What’s the nature of the box that Ben describes to Locke? – It’s a metaphor.
- Did Cooper kill Peter Talbot? – The fact that he pushes Locke out a window suggests that he did.
- What brought Cooper to the island – Ben, the magic box, or the island? – Ben had Cooper abducted.
- Was the monster involved in Nikki and Paulo’s death? – The writers say yes, but I don’t like that.
- Is this it? Is this the end for Nikki and Paulo? – Yep.
- Why is Locke’s hand all bandaged up? – Cooper bit him.
- Where did The Others go? – They’ve moved on to their old camp.
- Why did The Others leave Juliet behind? – She’s a spy! Gasp!
- Why is Ben spying on the survivors, and what’s going to happen in a week? – He’s planning to abduct all the pregnant women and figure this out.
- Who IS the parachutist? – Naomi Dorrit.
- How the heck did Mikhail survive the sonic fence incident? – “The pylons were not set to a lethal level.” (Kind of like the time that Tony Almeida “missed the artery.”)
- What does Rousseau need more dynamite for? – She and Jack are going to ambush The Others with it.
- What secret are Jack and Juliet keeping from Kate? – Juliet’s a double agent.
- What did Ben mean when he asked Richard if he remembered birthdays? – Richard doesn’t seem to age.
- Is it just me or is Richard not aging? – Um, yeah. He’s not.
- Is that it for Locke? – No, he still has work to do.
- Is Mikhail finally dead? – Damon says yes.
Still Unanswered:
- Why doesn’t technology work on the island?
- “Where are we?”
- Michael promises to find Vincent “as soon as it stops raining.” Immediately, it stops raining. Is this situational humor, or is there something special about Walt?
- Why did the thing in the jungle let Locke live, and why does he lie about it?
- Where’s Christian’s body?
- Is the Christian on-island a ghost, a resurrected Christian, or something else entirely?
- What does Locke mean when he says that he’s “looked into the eye of this island, and it’s beautiful”?
- What is the source of the mysterious whispers?
- What does Claire’s dream/nightmare mean?
- Why can’t anyone else raise Claire’s baby?
- Did the psychic know that Flight 815 was going to crash?
- Walt keeps rolling what he needs in backgammon and says he’s the luckiest person his step-dad knows – is there something supernatural at play?
- Why are the tides rising so quickly?
- Why has the monster been quiet the last few weeks?
- Why is Michael “holding on” – for Walt or for himself?
- Did Walt somehow cause the Bronze Kahuku to crash into the window?
- Is Claire’s black rock the same as Rousseau’s black rock?
- What was the Tampa Job that Sawyer and Hibbs worked?
- Did Sawyer ever get revenge on Hibbs for using him?
- What’s the significance of The Numbers?
- Why does “using” The Numbers lead to problems?
- Are The Numbers cursed?
- Who’s been broadcasting The Numbers from the island?
- Why did the island take away Locke’s ability to walk?
- I think this one is between the lines, especially in light of the fifth season’s events: Did Shannon miss, or did the island save Locke?
- How does Walt know about the hatch?
- Was it Walt’s thoughts on the hatch that spurred his change of heart vis-à-vis leaving the island?
- Why did Montand lose his arm?
- What infected Rousseau’s team?
- What makes Rousseau claim the monster is a security system?
- How did The Black Rock get all the way inland?
- Michael said it best: “How the hell does a place this big never get discovered?”
- Why isn’t Locke afraid of the smoke monster?
- Where did the smoke monster try to take Locke?
- What did Shannon see in the jungle – Walt or something else?
- What’s the significance of the mural in the hatch?
- Why would Desmond think that the world doesn’t exist anymore?
- What will the other five DHARMA orientation videos show? – One (The Pearl) shows that the stations are under surveillance.
- What happened in the “incident”?
- Why the numbers – why do those get entered into the computer?
- How did Rose know that Bernard is fine?
- Who is Jae Lee’s American woman?
- How does Locke know so much about babies?
- Why is Shannon seeing visions of Walt?
- What is the function of The Arrow station?
- Who claimed that the island was under quarantine, and why?
- Who does the glass eye belong to?
- Where did the U.S. Army knife come from?
- Where did the mysterious black horse come from?
- Are the ghosts that Kate is seeing connected to the “ghost” of Walt that Sayid saw?
- Are the odd things around Kate – Sawyer as Wayne, the black horse – ghosts, guilt, the smoke monster, or something else?
- How could communication with the outside world lead to another incident?
- Does Eko have a soul?
- Why didn’t the smoke monster attack Eko?
- What does Sawyer owe Gordy?
- Why are transmissions coming in from 1944?
- Why is Rousseau so convinced that Henry Gale is one of The Others?
- What’s the significance of the hieroglyphics?
- What was The Staff’s original function?
- Why do The Others pretend to be all grizzly?
- I think it’s also fair to ask whether Dave was Hurley’s imagination or “the island” just messing with him.
- Did “Henry” press the button?
- How does the island heal people?
- Was Goodwin going to kill Ana Lucia?
- Is Richard Malkin genuinely a psychic or not?
- Who salted the question mark?
- Why did the orientation film presenter use a different name – Mark Wickmund instead of Marvin Candle?
- Why did Locke have to come to the Pearl?
- Why did Pickett take Michael’s blood?
- Why did Ms. Klugh choose the four survivors that she did?
- Why was Desmond dishonorably discharged from the army?
- Why couldn’t Desmond leave the island?
- Why is Libby’s hair different in each flashback?
- Who was Libby married to? David, but David who?
- What’s the story behind the Hurley bird?
- What’s the deal with the four-toed statue?
- How did Inman get from Iraq to the island?
- Who is Radzinsky?
- Why would Radzinsky edit the video?
- Why did Radzinsky kill himself?
- Why did Kelvin leave the army?
- Why won’t Michael be able to return to the island?
- Are The Others really “the good guys”?
- Why isn’t Kate Tom Friendly’s “type”?
- Why does Ben treat Kate so differently?
- Were Sarah and Christian having an affair?
- Why is Karl being held captive? – Ben doesn’t want him getting Alex pregnant.
- What’s The Others’ endgame?
- What’s the point of having Sawyer and Kate break rocks?
- Why stay on this island if The Others can leave all along?
- Who are the Dharma skeletons in the bear cave?
- Why was the smoke monster following Eko?
- If that wasn’t Yemi, who was it?
- Why did the smoke monster kill Eko?
- Who is Jacob?
- Who’s on Jacob’s list, and how does it differ from Ms. Klugh’s list?
- Why isn’t Jack on Jacob’s list?
- Why is Ben claiming to be Alex’s father?
- Was there something supernatural at play when Juliet’s husband was hit by a bus?
- Does Widmore have an island connection as the paintings in his office suggest?
- How does Mrs. Hawking know everything?
- Is Mrs. Hawking real?
- Is Achara’s gift metaphorical or supernatural?
- Why has Cindy joined The Others?
- How does Karl not know about The Brady Bunch?
- What’s the significance of Juliet’s mark?
- What do Jack’s tattoos “mean”?
- Where’d the dart in the jungle come from?
- What is the nature of the truce that Mikhail mentions?
- What did Ms. Klugh know that she didn’t want the survivors to know?
- Will the homing pigeon plan work?
- Why was Locke’s paralysis cured immediately, but Ben has been allowed to suffer?
- What is Richard Alpert’s role with The Others?
- Why did the smoke monster shoot Juliet with white light?
- What happened the other three times Juliet’s shoulder was dislocated?
- Why can’t women give birth after conceiving on the island?
- Why doesn’t Ben want anyone leaving the island?
- How can Jacob cure cancer?
- Why is Ben so hooked on Juliet?
- What happened with Sayid in Basra?
- How did the parachutist get the photograph of Desmond and Penny?
- Who is the parachutist working for?
- How does the parachutist know Desmond’s name?
- Why is the room in The Staff hidden?
- What about the island increases sperm count?
- Is Sun going to be okay?
- What’s the deal with the Flight 815 discovered by those not on the island? How can that be?
- How did The Others know to be waiting for Locke?
- Why did The Black Rock come to the island?
- Why is Ben so afraid of Jacob?
- How did Ben see his mother in the jungle?
- What’s the significance of the white ash around Jacob’s cabin?
- Why is Richard so interested in Ben’s vision of a dead person?
- Was Jacob really in the cabin?
- How did a group of low-tech Hostiles purge the island?
- What happened to Annie?
- What was The Looking Glass’s original function?
- What is The Temple?
- Is Kate pregnant?
- What happened to Mikhail’s eye?
- What forces are attacking the island?
- What’s with the vision of Walt?
- Who’s in the coffin?
- If it’s not Penny’s boat, whose is it?
- Who else makes it off the island?
- In the flashforward, who’s going to wonder where Kate is?
- Why weren’t Jack and Kate supposed to leave? That is, why do they have to go back?
- What happened to the island after they left?
Me Being a Smartass – Season 3:
- How much of what Ben Linus says can we believe?
- Was that the same bunny? – Ben likes bunnies.
- Where does one even get “shocking amounts of pornography” like Charlie finds in Sawyer’s stash?
- Has Jack flipped his lid?
- Is there a forensics hatch Sawyer doesn’t know about?
No comments:
Post a Comment