*** Official Lost Season 6 *** (1 Viewer)

[stbugs]

So none of the potential candidates are allowed to kill themselves? It could explain why the gun didn't fire when Michael (that black guy from season 1) tried to kill himself. He might have been a potential candidate.

Good catch.

Great catch. I forgot all about that and with Libby appearing to him, he definitely had Jacob (I think) appearing to him like to the others to get him back to the island.

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

I thought it was a little out of place for the pilot to come out with the fact that he should have been the pilot on the flight. Kind of like a Final Destination thing

I liked it. The whole, "How different would it have been? The island got you anyway..." thing was awesome.

 

[Incogneto]

Could we get a friggin name for Fake Locke by now?

I think they are trying to build some suspense on the name of NotLocke....and it's only going to really be effective if the name, when revealed, is one we know.Here is a thought for you....NotLock = Desmond.I keep thinking back to the episodes in Season 3 (or was it 2?) when Charlie died, and Desmond could 'see the future'...or was re-living the past. I still think he will play a part this season (We saw him on the plane!), and why not make him the leader of the dark side?....just a scatterbrained theory....but I would love to read some other thoughts on this....

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Could we get a friggin name for Fake Locke by now?

I think they are trying to build some suspense on the name of NotLocke....and it's only going to really be effective if the name, when revealed, is one we know.Here is a thought for you....NotLock = Desmond.I keep thinking back to the episodes in Season 3 (or was it 2?) when Charlie died, and Desmond could 'see the future'...or was re-living the past. I still think he will play a part this season (We saw him on the plane!), and why not make him the leader of the dark side?....just a scatterbrained theory....but I would love to read some other thoughts on this....

I disagree. Desmond is who is coming to the island, as per Jacob. The rules don't apply to him. He will play a BIG part this season.

 

[shadyridr]

Im assuming Desmond is in the sub

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Im assuming Desmond is in the sub

With Widmore? Who hates him??? Unlikely.

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

Im assuming Desmond is in the sub

With Widmore? Who hates him??? Unlikely.

I wouldn't assume that Widmore hates him in this new timeline. Things have changed.

 

[shadyridr]

Im assuming Desmond is in the sub

With Widmore? Who hates him??? Unlikely.

If it help Widmore get back to the island and get back at Ben who he hates more I can see it

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Im assuming Desmond is in the sub

With Widmore? Who hates him??? Unlikely.

I wouldn't assume that Widmore hates him in this new timeline. Things have changed.

Things have changed in the flash sideways, not so much on island (with the exception of Ben's redemption and spurning of Flocke). Nothing's a definite, but I'd be real surprised if Desmond and Widmore are buddy-buddy now.

 

[Incogneto]

Could we get a friggin name for Fake Locke by now?

I think they are trying to build some suspense on the name of NotLocke....and it's only going to really be effective if the name, when revealed, is one we know.Here is a thought for you....NotLock = Desmond.I keep thinking back to the episodes in Season 3 (or was it 2?) when Charlie died, and Desmond could 'see the future'...or was re-living the past. I still think he will play a part this season (We saw him on the plane!), and why not make him the leader of the dark side?....just a scatterbrained theory....but I would love to read some other thoughts on this....

I disagree. Desmond is who is coming to the island, as per Jacob. The rules don't apply to him. He will play a BIG part this season.

So then what do you think NotLocke's name is going to be?

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Could we get a friggin name for Fake Locke by now?

I think they are trying to build some suspense on the name of NotLocke....and it's only going to really be effective if the name, when revealed, is one we know.Here is a thought for you....NotLock = Desmond.I keep thinking back to the episodes in Season 3 (or was it 2?) when Charlie died, and Desmond could 'see the future'...or was re-living the past. I still think he will play a part this season (We saw him on the plane!), and why not make him the leader of the dark side?....just a scatterbrained theory....but I would love to read some other thoughts on this....

I disagree. Desmond is who is coming to the island, as per Jacob. The rules don't apply to him. He will play a BIG part this season.

So then what do you think NotLocke's name is going to be?

Something Biblical.

 

[Sack-Religious]

I disagree. Desmond is who is coming to the island, as per Jacob. The rules don't apply to him. He will play a BIG part this season.

Couldn't Jacob have been referring to Charles Widmore?BTW - didn't that sub look an awful lot like the one Locke blew up? Perhaps that's how Ben and his dad got off the island in the flash sideways.

 

[AcerFC]

Could we get a friggin name for Fake Locke by now?

I think they are trying to build some suspense on the name of NotLocke....and it's only going to really be effective if the name, when revealed, is one we know.Here is a thought for you....NotLock = Desmond.I keep thinking back to the episodes in Season 3 (or was it 2?) when Charlie died, and Desmond could 'see the future'...or was re-living the past. I still think he will play a part this season (We saw him on the plane!), and why not make him the leader of the dark side?....just a scatterbrained theory....but I would love to read some other thoughts on this....

I disagree. Desmond is who is coming to the island, as per Jacob. The rules don't apply to him. He will play a BIG part this season.

So then what do you think NotLocke's name is going to be?

Henry Thoreau

 

[SmoovySmoov]

I disagree. Desmond is who is coming to the island, as per Jacob. The rules don't apply to him. He will play a BIG part this season.

Couldn't Jacob have been referring to Charles Widmore?BTW - didn't that sub look an awful lot like the one Locke blew up? Perhaps that's how Ben and his dad got off the island in the flash sideways.

Yes, very much so. After last week I was convinced that he was talking about Desmond. After last night, I'm kinda split as to if he meant Desmond or Widmore.

 

[Sack-Religious]

Could we get a friggin name for Fake Locke by now?

I think they are trying to build some suspense on the name of NotLocke....and it's only going to really be effective if the name, when revealed, is one we know.Here is a thought for you....NotLock = Desmond.

I keep thinking back to the episodes in Season 3 (or was it 2?) when Charlie died, and Desmond could 'see the future'...or was re-living the past. I still think he will play a part this season (We saw him on the plane!), and why not make him the leader of the dark side?

....just a scatterbrained theory....but I would love to read some other thoughts on this....

I disagree. Desmond is who is coming to the island, as per Jacob. The rules don't apply to him. He will play a BIG part this season.

So then what do you think NotLocke's name is going to be?

Something Biblical.

Like Esau?

 

[AcerFC]

Like Esau?

Why would anyone sell their birthright for a meal of lentilsMaybe that is why he is so mad and turns to smoke

 

[kaa]

The resolution of the blackmailing of the principal made no sense at all. I'm supposed to believe that Ben is clever enough to work out a way to bring down the principal and take his job, but he's apparently not clever enough to find someone else to give Alex a good recommendation?

Some of you are so eager to complain that you don't see what that was for.The whole purpose was to show he would sacrifice his own desire of being principal to help another person...in this case, his "on-island daughter" who is just a very good student to him.

It was to show his real redemption off-island.

I know what the intent was. I didn't miss that. I'm saying it was poorly executed.

I believe you did miss it given your thought that "he was not clever enough" to work out both the job and find someone to give Alex a rec.Im saying your criticism was very poorly executed in this case.

But its true. There is no reason that Ben couldn't have taken the principal job and still found another way to get Alex into Yale. I know the intent is to show that Ben is redeemed. I understand that the intent is to show that Ben would be corrupted if he took the principal job. But the reality is that there is no guarantee it would corrupt Ben. Writing ELBA on a blackboard is no guarantee it will corrupt Ben. Yet there is a guarantee that the school will still be poorly managed and a lot of the kids attending that school will continue to get substandard teaching if he doesn't do it.

Its just poorly executed.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Like Esau?

That's what I was trying to come up with, but memory failed me.

 

[kupcho1]

Also interesting that it was Real Locke last night in the flash sideways that was trying to tempt Ben over to the dark side. It was he who dangled the carrot of becoming the Principal to Ben.

How is Locke's behavior evil? He's a substitute teacher with no horse in the race. He sees the indifference of the principal and the interest Linus has in imbuing the school with a real mission. Why wouldn't he rather see Linus as principal? How does this equate to "the dark side"?

(1) His behavior is not evil but are you telling me that it's of no significance that it's Locke that is tempting Ben to make the decision that will ultimately fail him?(2) With Locke t's all about the man behind the curtain and MIB has control of Locke.

(1) Yes, it is of no significance (other than having an "outside" opinion on who would make a better principal). They can only have so many characters interacting on the side stories, if only because of the time constraints. I suppose they could have introduced Libby as a teacher, or Ana Lucia as school security and gotten to the same point, but why bother. Also, why would you say "the decision that will ultimately fail him"? How did (or could) a decision he made fail him? He was presented with a choice and he made it. The point they're trying to convey is that it was made (probably) differently in the side story and how Ben would/did act on the island as leader.(2) Are you saying MIB has control of sideways story Locke? If so, I don't see it.

 

[Joseph]

WHat about Richard telling Hurley not to listen to the "Jacob" he is seeing?

Richard feels like listening to Jacob meant that he wasted his life (or at least the last couple hundred years).

 

[kaa]

I disagree. Desmond is who is coming to the island, as per Jacob. The rules don't apply to him. He will play a BIG part this season.

Couldn't Jacob have been referring to Charles Widmore?BTW - didn't that sub look an awful lot like the one Locke blew up? Perhaps that's how Ben and his dad got off the island in the flash sideways.

I can't quite remember but when the Losties time travelled back to 1977, they changed more events than detonating Jughead. I think they convinced Marvin Candle to evacuate the island, and perhaps Ben and Roger Linus were sent home on the sub before the island was sunk.

 

[sho nuff]

But its true. There is no reason that Ben couldn't have taken the principal job and still found another way to get Alex into Yale. I know the intent is to show that Ben is redeemed. I understand that the intent is to show that Ben would be corrupted if he took the principal job. But the reality is that there is no guarantee it would corrupt Ben. Writing ELBA on a blackboard is no guarantee it will corrupt Ben. Yet there is a guarantee that the school will still be poorly managed and a lot of the kids attending that school will continue to get substandard teaching if he doesn't do it. Its just poorly executed.

It was the only way to execute it to show his redemption.

 

[IDrinkyourMilkshake]

Esau is the obvious choice.

 

[kaa]

But its true. There is no reason that Ben couldn't have taken the principal job and still found another way to get Alex into Yale. I know the intent is to show that Ben is redeemed. I understand that the intent is to show that Ben would be corrupted if he took the principal job. But the reality is that there is no guarantee it would corrupt Ben. Writing ELBA on a blackboard is no guarantee it will corrupt Ben. Yet there is a guarantee that the school will still be poorly managed and a lot of the kids attending that school will continue to get substandard teaching if he doesn't do it. Its just poorly executed.

It was the only way to execute it to show his redemption.

I think it failed to show that. They should have tried something else. It was just poorly written.

 

[sho nuff]

But its true. There is no reason that Ben couldn't have taken the principal job and still found another way to get Alex into Yale. I know the intent is to show that Ben is redeemed. I understand that the intent is to show that Ben would be corrupted if he took the principal job. But the reality is that there is no guarantee it would corrupt Ben. Writing ELBA on a blackboard is no guarantee it will corrupt Ben. Yet there is a guarantee that the school will still be poorly managed and a lot of the kids attending that school will continue to get substandard teaching if he doesn't do it. Its just poorly executed.

It was the only way to execute it to show his redemption.

I think it failed to show that. They should have tried something else. It was just poorly written.

How did they fail to show it if nearly everyone understands it was about his redemption...including you?BTW...you claiming anything was poorly written is darn funny.

 

[kaa]

In fact, I could argue that Ben not taking the principal job was the corrupt, evil act. Maybe what went through his mind was "You know, I could help so many kids by doing this. I could get new equipment for the school, better teachers. But its just not worth the trouble. Besides, it helps Alex, and I care about her not the rest of these loser kids."

 

[sho nuff]

 

[IDrinkyourMilkshake]

In fact, I could argue that Ben not taking the principal job was the corrupt, evil act. Maybe what went through his mind was "You know, I could help so many kids by doing this. I could get new equipment for the school, better teachers. But its just not worth the trouble. Besides, it helps Alex, and I care about her not the rest of these loser kids."

You spend a lot of time complaining.

 

[Bobcat10]

Maybe a little Widmore tonight in the sideways? Figure it has to be with a Ben or Desmond theme.

Widmore!Great episode imo.

 

[Sack-Religious]

Other thoughts on Sundown/Lost my Jef Jensen at EW. Some interesting stuff in here. Warning, long.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20349492,00.html

March 9, 2010

Doc Jensen: Island of 'Lost' Souls?

After ''Sundown,'' it dawns on the Doc: Think of the series as an allegory for contemporary spiritual experience... Plus: A sneak peek at new episode; characters that are ''better off dead''; an alternate view of ''candidates''; and a Dogen sermon

Last week's episode of Lost has stuck with me like a magic knife to the chest. (Ouch.) I remain troubled by and for Island world Sayid, a tortured soul torn between devilish deals, doomed to be forever used as a weapon by powerful, manipulative men. (Sideways Sayid, though still infected by a self-negating guilt and damnation, at least has some kind of moral compass, embodied by Nadia.) Despite staying up all night upchucking almost all of my ''Sundown''-fattened brain into my recap, chunky flecks of gooey thought remain in my skull, which I will now fork and fling into your face. Lucky you! For example, there's the title, ''Sundown,'' a word that's synonymous with ''twilight,'' which links to a host of provocative cultural references that may have something, everything, or absolutely nothing to do with Lost, including: The Twilight Zone (Smokey's prison break = ''The Howling Man,'' about the Devil escaping from an order of monks); the Star Trek: Enterprise episode ''Twilight,'' in which Captain Archer is inflicted with memory-eating parasites that are actually rewriting history; ''Twilight of the Gods'' or Ragnarok, a Norse mythology legend about an End Times war among the gods; and (my favorite) Twilight of the Idols by Nietzsche, who uses the work to rail against any religion (especially Christianity) that emphasizes judgment and condemnation, and fails to recognize that ''everything is necessary in a unity.'' (Or, as the late Lennon's similarly deceased namesake once sang: ''Imagine there's no Heaven/It's easy if you try/No Hell below us/Above us only sky/Imagine all the people/Living for today.'') Oh, and I hear there's a popular line of vampire romance novels that make use of the ''twilight'' motif, too. (Team Jacob or Team Edward Smokenstein: pick a side!)

''Sundown'' left me wondering about all the ways Lost could be an allegory for contemporary spiritual experience. Consider these three stupid pretentious alienating theories, each of which paint me out to be a crazed religious nut-job and will make you totally hate me and never want to read this column again! Giggle-giggle!

STUPID PRETENTIOUS ALIENATING THEORY NO. 1: The Temple was a curious synthesis of spiritual ideas. Dogen was named after a Zen super-stud. His duties included managing an ancient spring of life and measuring good and evil in the human heart. His right-hand man/interpreter was (seemingly) named after John Lennon, an Eastern-influenced humanist whose most famous song imagined the deconstruction of Christian ideas and religious institutions. And yet, Lost's Dogen and Lennon weren't wimpy turn-the-other-cheek pacifists, either. They had guns! They knew martial arts! Killing? No problem! Was Lost trying to represent the strange brew that is American melting pot spirituality — part Old School Moralism, part New Age Zen, part What The BLEEP Do We Know?! mystic science? And was Lost extolling this system or criticizing it? The Temple's dirty spring could be seen as a metaphor for the current state of cultural mythology: cloudy, diluted, impotent extrapolation of Ur-spirituality. How then to decode Smokey's attack on the Temple? Divine judgment against a corrupt spiritual operating system — or the furious terrorism of an opposing spiritual ideology? Debate. Or not. Yeah, probably not.

STUPID PRETENTIOUS ALIENATING THEORY NO. 2: The Island is a metaphor for a kind of God, typically Christian, whose two defining characteristics are embodied by two separate agents/agencies: Jacob (grace/redemption/renewal) and Smokey (justice/judgment/death). Lost is arguing that the best iteration of God is one in which both components are perfectly balanced. We need the Holy Trinity of Peace, Love, and Understanding living in our heart — but we need them all packing heat, too.

NEXT PAGE: How Lost's relationship to answers is positively Job-ian

STUPID PRETENTIOUS ALIENATING THEORY NO. 3: The current conflict on the Island is a metaphor for our own conflicted attitudes about God. Lost reflects our respective uneasiness with God's grace/law duality (specifically the Smokey part; we all crave justice and truth, but none of us really want to be judged and measured by it ourselves) and our tendency to want to recalibrate God as we see fit, to settings that make us feel more comfortable with ourselves at whatever given moment we find ourselves. I might argue that a great example of how this discomfort is expressed within the larger Lost culture is the widespread dissatisfaction with Real John Locke's fate — and the equally widespread theory/hope-against-hope that the story will conclude with his resurrection. Poor John Locke! He got robbed! He was treated unfairly! He better get a happy ending or I'm going to write an angry screed on a heavily spammed message board! I say: Boo-hoo. Life is hard, and then you get strangled by Benjamin Linus while thinking ''I don't understand.'' Welcome to the Fall, #####.

If Lost really is an allegory for spiritual experience, then the show gets at least one thing right. In most stories about divine forces meddling in human affairs, the storyteller does the audience a favor by establishing the angels, demons, god, and devils as givens. We are not meant to question their existence. Their morality and motives are typically clear. Lost doesn't do any of this for its audience. Its (potential) gods and monsters are mercurial, paradoxical, untrustworthy, and just generally hard-to-figure-out sometimes-there entities who don't make it easy for us to glean their will or understand their purposes and plans for us. And this assumes that these alleged deities are even real and not products of a collective delusion or projections of the imagination. My summary reminds me of Greek myths, where the mortal heroes approached even the ''good'' gods with great trepidation, knowing them to be fickle, emotional entities who often acted out of whimsy, boredom, spite, and on a rare occasion, benevolence. I am also reminded of the God of Judeo-Christian tradition, who decided to hold himself at a remove from the world out of respect/punishment for mankind's free will/Garden of Eden choice; who has been known to prefer communicating in signs, symbols, and dreams, and engage Satan in bets over humanity's goodness; who demands that we take him on faith and trust his will, provided they can correctly discern his will and/or wait patiently for it to become clear. (Seriously, if you think Lost has a bad attitude about supplying its audience with answers, go read the Book of Job. It's basically 42 chapters of pages of God saying, ''What do you mean you 'deserve answers'? I don't owe you crap! How about I just give you two huge bloody boils on your nipples instead? How would you like that? You know, I brought you into this world, I can take you out, and yes, I know I'm stealing a joke from Bill Cosby, but everything belongs to me, anyway, so he can bite my leviathan. Now sit in your ashes and think about your life, you whiner.'')

NEXT PAGE: A Lost prayer

Bottom Line: Lost is a potent metaphor for the frustrated spiritual life — for people who wonder why a good and just God won't do us all a favor and make it easier on us and show himself. A prayer, then, for these people:

Our father, who art in heaven

Are you really there?

Do you exist like some fixed point in the ocean?

Or do you flicker through space and time like a spasmodic temporal anomaly?

Have you gone underground, like a sunken Island, brokenhearted over the big bang of disbelief?

Or have you always been a mass Sundowning delusion, or the embodiment of Freudian ''Oceanic'' feeling, or merely the group hallucination of 120 bored people on an airplane with no in-flight movie to watch?

Anyway, I'm feeling really lost

And I'm feeling the despairing cost

Of a life of patient waiting for satisfying resolution to my life's mysteries and dramas...just like that TV show Lost, which makes so much more sense now that I'm comparing it to my ''relationship'' with you. So I guess that takes care of one of my anxieties! Wow! Prayer really works! Thanks, God!

Love,

Me, Margaret*

*Margaret is apparently not my real name.

A BRIEF THEORY ABOUT THE BENEFIT OF BEING DEAD

Plus! A sneak peek at tonight's episode, so...

SPOILER ALERT!

Last week, Dogen gave this chilling advice to Sayid: ''I think it would be better if you were dead.'' I think we should take a minute to mull the implication, especially since according to the sneak peek clip ABC has released from tonight's episode, we're going to be hearing another character express the same loaded sentiment within a matter of hours. Or right now, if you wish to view the clip. I love the wink-wink self-aware irony of a certain character's description of the island of Elba:

BONUS Lost HOMEWORK FOR TONIGHT'S EPISODE: (1) ''The Man Behind The Curtain,'' season 3; (2) ''Dead Is Dead,'' season 5.

But back to Dogen's ominous ''better off dead'' advice for Sayid. The inscrutable Temple master had just finished explaining to the former soldier/torturer/assassin a myth of judgment — how for every man, there is a scale that measured the balance of good to evil. Dogen said that by his calculations, Sayid's heart tilted the wrong way. But Dogen did not say that Sayid's heart titled toward evil — just that it leaned ''the wrong way.'' Is it possible that Sayid's scale tipped toward good? Dogen's ''better off dead'' sentiment proves it may suggest that the answer is yes. Dogen painted FrankenLocke to be a magnetically bad dude of irresistible influence, a pied piper of entropy; join him, and your soul winds up corrupted or annihilated. I think Dogen was basically telling Sayid that he'd be better off moving into the afterlife with whatever degree of redemption he possessed than live to meet with certain spiritual doom sucking in the toxic secondhand smoke of Satan's Cancer Poof. Call it the Quit While You're Ahead Theory.

NEXT PAGE: What role was it that the Candidates were being groomed for?

WHO REALLY OWNS THE LIGHTHOUSE?

A mind-blowing theory of Lost guaranteed to change the way you look at Season 6*

What if we're reading this ''Candidate'' business all wrong? What if Jacob wasn't trying to recruit people to replace him as Island protector? What if Jacob — grand author of Island redemption narratives — was casting about for a new Smokey to play the role of Island Tester/Judge/Antagonist? Or maybe it's really all about this:

What if Smokey has been trying to replace himself?

What if the Man In Black was actually searching for someone to replace himself on the Island, to serve as his permanent substitute? The Lighthouse isn't Jacob's tool — it belongs to Smokey, who used it to scout the world for potential replacements. Jacob's meddling in castaway lives could have been about trying to save them from Smokey's machinations, not his own. The Cave, then, really did belong to Jacob, or at least his agents; having infiltrated the Lighthouse and gleaned its secrets, they used it as the place to track Smokey's targets. Smokey's story to Sawyer about the Cave and Jacob's purpose? Pure trickery. Taking facts in evidence and bending them to a theory/lie that could manipulate Sawyer. BONUS THEORY! If the Lighthouse really can be likened to a Panopticon, let us remind ourselves that Jeremy Bentham invented the panopticon. Let us also remind ourselves also that John Locke was given the ''Jeremy Bentham'' pseudonym by Charles Widmore, and when Locke asked why, Widmore explained that his choice was an inside joke. And who this season did we see cracking ''inside jokes'' inside Jacob's cave? Fake John Locke. We might wonder, then, if Charles Widmore truly was setting Locke up for his Fake Locke destiny.

*Won't blow your mind if you've already thought of this before me. Also, if your skull is made of titanium reinforced alloys.

THE PASSION OF THE DOGEN CHRIST!

My theory on how to read the brief, Biblically bubbly Lost arc of Jacob's Twilight Samurai

A few words about the Island's latest martyr, who shared at least part of a name with Dogen Zenji, the famed 13th century Zen master. Not much of a man of faith after all, was he? Dogen's back story revealed him to be modern and worldly, an upwardly mobile, career-driven man who made stupid decisions while drinking. He became bonded to Jacob only as the result of a pact to save his son — a pact that smacked of some kind of pact with the devil, which struck me and many of you funny: Faustian bargains definitely challenge our more flattering theory-notions of touchy-feely Jacob. (By the way: nice work by Fishbiscuit, who did the hard work of researching devilish deals.) Should we assume Jacob trained him for the Temple job (maintaining the holy hot tub, working the good/evil electroshock machine, etc.) or did a previous master train him in the ways of Templing? Regardless, I got the sense that Dogen had limited contact with Jacob. And we didn't talk about this back in ''Lighthouse,'' but I was struck by how Dogen never picked up on the fact that Hurley could communicate with Jacob's specter. For Dogen, Jacob seems to have been one of those distant deities. All in all, Dogen wasn't so much a high priest but rather more like a (baseball team?) manager — a well-trained bureaucrat. What was so special about him that he could keep Smokey out of the Temple? Maybe nothing more than merely holding the job? FUN FACT! Hiroyuki Sanada, the actor who played Dogen, came to Team Lost's attention via his performance in the acclaimed 2002 Japanese film The Twilight Samurai, which demystifies the whole samurai thing, portraying them less as mystic warriors and more like accountants and clerks.

NEXT PAGE: Dogen finds his purpose

But I think everyone that Jacob brings to the Island has a unique, specific purpose, dramatic or otherwise. And I think over his scant few episodes on Lost, we saw Dogen recognizing what his purpose was, wrestling with its implications, and then, finally, embracing it. My theory? From the moment that Dogen realized that the Temple's healing spring had gone all dirty hot tub, he knew exactly what was required to fix it — the sacrifice of a human life, most likely his own.

Indeed, I wonder if Dogen always knew — or at least had always suspected — that his purpose for being on the Island was to forfeit his life for Jacob if and when needed. I think such purpose fits his back story: We learned that Dogen had been driving while drunk and got into an accident that left his son unspeakably injured and that Jacob had offered to heal the boy in exchange for Dogen's Island service. In other words: life for a life. Dogen agreed, and Jacob claimed the man's fate, to be used and spent at his discretion. What a bitter — and ultimately poisoned — pill for Dogen! You can save your son's life — but you can never see him again. Boo, Jacob! What kind of god asks his followers to make those kinds of choices? And yet, in the season premiere, Lost cited a text that reminded us that God often asks top agents to make crazy sacrifices: Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard. In the book, Kierkegaard examines the infamous incident from Genesis 22, in which God asks Abraham to prove his fidelity by sacrificing the one person that meant the most to him in the world: his son, Isaac. The book tackles three questions that Lost itself has posed this season, especially in ''Sundown:'' Can God's death decree/Abraham's intent to slay be deemed ethically good? At what point does duty to God become unethical? Was Abraham right in hiding his purpose from Isaac and the rest of his family? (Source: Wikipedia.) All of these questions were reflected in the homicidal assignations tasked to Sayid by both Dogen and FLocke.

I'd like to propose that Dogen's story also intersected with two other Biblical texts. First: Jesus' ''agony in the garden.'' If the reference eludes you, allow me to (Sunday) school you: After Jesus had wrapped up the Last Supper, he retreated to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He knew the moment of his betrayal and death was at hand — his moment of destiny — and he was experiencing something like angst (''My father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me, not as I wilt, but as thou wilt.'') before screwing on his resolve and embracing his purpose. Second: Peter's denial of Jesus. During the Last Supper, Christ told his chief disciple that Peter would deny knowing him on the day of Jesus' death. The prediction came true; depending on which gospel you read, Peter denied Jesus either two or three times before the day was out.

And so, by my count, Dogen tried to shirk his sacrificial destiny twice down there in his dungeon Zen garden. The first denial came after Dogen hooked Sayid up to his judgment machine. I think what the result told Dogen was that Sayid was vulnerable to Smokey corruption, and because Sayid was a killer, the candidate most likely to become his Judas — the one that would betray him and facilitate his death, a death that he knew Jacob wanted, even needed for the sake of his Master Plan of Island/Castaway Salvation. With his dark destiny staring him in the face, Dogen got cold feet and tried to subvert his dark destiny. Hence: the poison pill he wanted Jack to feed Sayid. (Nice how he couched the kill order to Jack as a chance to redeem himself — very Abraham/Isaac.) But Jack bravely subverted Dogen's cowardly subversion, thus bringing Dogen back on task.

NEXT PAGE: Dogen accepts his fate

The second time Dogen tried to chicken out came in ''Sundown.'' See: the Dogen/Sayid fight-to-the-death that followed Dogen's myth of judgment. As much as Dogen was trying to save his own life, I do think that he thought he would be doing Sayid a favor by ending his life. Then Dogen saw the baseball drop. It reminded him of his purpose and obligation. We might also wonder if Dogen lived under the threat — or the assumed threat — that Jacob would take his son's life away if he didn't serve Jacob faithfully.

Dogen then told Sayid to scram. But Claire arrived and tried to bait Dogen into leaving the Temple. Dogen knew or assumed that doing so would lead to his death, thus putting his people at risk. Dogen then unbanished Sayid and tasked him with assassinating Fake Locke. Now, you could count this as a third denial IF you believe Smokey's assertion that Dogen was trying to set Sayid up to get killed. But I don't think that was Dogen's intention. First, I think the Man In Black isn't permitted to kill the Candidates (at least, not yet) — and I think Dogen knew that. Second, I don't think the Candidates can kill Smokey (at least, not yet) — and I think Dogen knew that, too. I think Dogen was trying to accomplish something else by having Sayid stab UnLocke with that Knife That Had No Impact (Or Did It?). Maybe Dogen knew the benefit. Maybe he didn't. At the very least, Dogen knew it had to be done, and he did as he was supposed to. IMPLIED OR PROJECTED LITERARY REFERENCE? ''Knife That Had No Impact (Or Did It?)'' = The Subtle Knife, the second book in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, about a rebellion against a rogue angel who has essentially deposed God and set himself as the ruler of all possible worlds. In the novel, ''the subtle knife'' is an enchanted instrument that can cut open portals into parallel (or Sideways) universes. In ''Lighthouse,'' we saw Jack trash the Lighthouse with a spyglass — and the third book is entitled The Amber Spyglass. Will we see The Golden Compass tonight?

I'm thinking that Dogen was expecting Sayid to return to the Temple and try to kill him. More, I think he let it happen. ''Sundown'' gave us a very simple symbol for how Dogen used Sayid: a boomerang. Dogen flung his weapon right at the Man In Black, knowing it would come winging back at him. When it did, Dogen made no effort to catch it, allowing it to strike him fatally. Like Christ, Dogen must have known — or more boldly, accepted on faith — that it was Jacob's will that he die. And so, at sundown, Dogen played the knight of faith, and went into that good night as a sacrificial lamb. His purpose: fulfilled. His debt to Jacob: paid. We are left with fear and trembling questions. Was it ethical for Dogen and Smokey to call for holy hits? Were Sayid's murders justified because Island gods sanctioned them? Do the castaways deserve explanations? Do we?! And so we debate, blog, and write books.

NEXT PAGE: Time for a resurrection?

Whether or not you buy into my read on Dogen, I think we can all agree that we should be mulling the significance of Dogen and Lennon dying in the dirty hot tub. I join the chorus of fans who've been theorizing that their deaths fixed the darn thing. And why did that need to happen? Simple! So Jack Shephard can fulfill his Great Island Destiny by taking what would be for him — and anyone — a pretty damn big leap of faith by...digging up the dead body of the real John Locke and carting him across the Island for glorious resurrection in the healing waters of the Temple spring. Yep: Guess maybe I'm living in angry denial, too. Or am I? After all, in the words of Sideways Jack: ''Nothing's irreversible.''

And with that, I bring this silly sermon to a close. But our Lost Day is far from over. It's just begun! And it's actually going to get a whole lot more fun! First, we have the new episode of Totally Lost, which takes you behind the scenes of ''Sundown'' and chronicles some of the crazy fun that Dan and I had while visiting the set. Later today, I'll have ''Countdown To Lost,'' which will revisit some of the themes of this column, but from a slightly different perspective — one that sheds further light on the Good Guy or Bad Guy? debate swirling around the Man In Black by revisiting a key scene from season 4 that we've kinda forgotten about. Tonight, I'll have an Instant Reaction to the new episode after it airs, and then tomorrow, I'll have a full recap. Questions or complaints? Twitter is the best place to find me these days (that would be @ewdocjensen) but you can email me at docjensenew@gmail.com. In fact, next week, we'll be resuming Reader Mail on a weekly basis. The floor is yours, Lost fans — right after you press PLAY on the videos below. Do it! They're fun! And we work too hard on them for you to blithely ignore them! Love us! LOVE US! DAMMIT LOVE US WHY DON'T YOU?!

 

[biggamer3]

Not a real Lostie like you guys, but enjoy the banter in this thread.

Can someone explain to me if Alex really was Ben's child?

If so in the sideways thing was she still his child?

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Not a real Lostie like you guys, but enjoy the banter in this thread.Can someone explain to me if Alex really was Ben's child?If so in the sideways thing was she still his child?

He took her and raised her, but she wasn't of his seed, so to speak.

 

[biggamer3]

Not a real Lostie like you guys, but enjoy the banter in this thread.Can someone explain to me if Alex really was Ben's child?If so in the sideways thing was she still his child?

He took her and raised her, but she wasn't of his seed, so to speak.

So in the sideways he isnt raising her right? just wants to help her as a good teacher?Also what i find semi comical is the fact that you could blackmail someone to not only quit but also NOMINATE you and his replacement but you can't convince him to write a silly letter of recommendation. Totally unrealistic.Blackmailer: Ok, so you will quit your job, give me the job and no one will know you secretsVictim: Ok, BUT I wont be writing that letter for you, no way, I will lose my job and give it to you, but the letter is way out of line. No way you get all that!

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

Also what i find semi comical is the fact that you could blackmail someone to not only quit but also NOMINATE you and his replacement but you can't convince him to write a silly letter of recommendation. Totally unrealistic.Blackmailer: Ok, so you will quit your job, give me the job and no one will know you secretsVictim: Ok, BUT I wont be writing that letter for you, no way, I will lose my job and give it to you, but the letter is way out of line. No way you get all that!

I think this referenced back to the island, when the mercenaries killed Alex after Ben called their bluff. This time Ben wasn't willing to take the chance, however remote, that Alex's life would get destroyed.

 

[Mario Kart]

Alex was looking good last night.

I am enjoying the fact that the writers are answering many questions we have had over the years. I also enjoy that they are not doing it in a way that makes us stupid, meaning they are not hitting us over the head with, "here is an answer" rather they are filling in pieces of the puzzle as they go. Watching the series over, once it is done, is going to fill in many more answers that we have "forgotten" over the years or minor scenes we are not fully remembering right now.

The full appreciation will come when people view the series again.

 

[sho nuff]

Alex was looking good last night.

If she just keeps her mouth shut and not showing off the teeth.But agree...she looked quite nice.

 

[Sack-Religious]

Esau is the obvious choice.

Considering he and Jacob are twins and there's already been reference to the Bad Twin, perhaps it's too obvious. I'm sticking with Esau, for now.

 

[Statorama]

Also what i find semi comical is the fact that you could blackmail someone to not only quit but also NOMINATE you and his replacement but you can't convince him to write a silly letter of recommendation. Totally unrealistic.Blackmailer: Ok, so you will quit your job, give me the job and no one will know you secretsVictim: Ok, BUT I wont be writing that letter for you, no way, I will lose my job and give it to you, but the letter is way out of line. No way you get all that!

I think this referenced back to the island, when the mercenaries killed Alex after Ben called their bluff. This time Ben wasn't willing to take the chance, however remote, that Alex's life would get destroyed.

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

(2) Are you saying MIB has control of sideways story Locke? If so, I don't see it.

Yes, that's pretty much what I am saying. I think Locke is a pawn that can be controlled by either MIB or Jacob, he's a weak mind.Locke had the choice to interact furthur (spinal operation) with Jack (Jacob) in the sideways story but chose not to go that route. Getting away from Jack has caused the MIB to get in his head.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Remind me of the last thing that happened regarding Desmond? Ben shot him?

 

[Sack-Religious]

Remind me of the last thing that happened regarding Desmond? Ben shot him?

Yup, then I think he whupped Ben.Last we saw he was taken to the hospital, Penny was there with little Charlie and a doctor came out and told Penny that Des would be fine. Then I believe it showed Des talking to Penny, reiterating his mantra of never leaving her.

 

[Mario Kart]

Remind me of the last thing that happened regarding Desmond? Ben shot him?

Was in the hospital recuperating with Penny. Their son, Charlie, was with Daniel Faraday's mother however the whereabouts of Charlie were left up in the air. It was presumed Desmond and Penny were in the hospital, alive and "supposedly" well.

 

[Sack-Religious]

Remind me of the last thing that happened regarding Desmond? Ben shot him?

Was in the hospital recuperating with Penny. Their son, Charlie, was with Daniel Faraday's mother however the whereabouts of Charlie were left up in the air. It was presumed Desmond and Penny were in the hospital, alive and "supposedly" well.

Not quite. From The Variable

Desmond, after being shot by Ben, is rushed to the hospital to undergo surgery. A desperate Penny is left outside with her son Charlie. She is approached by Eloise Hawking, who comments that Charlie has his father's hair. Eloise reveals that she knows Desmond, and that his injury is her son's fault. Penny asks if Eloise's son is Ben, but Eloise replies instead that it is Daniel. Eloise apologizes for her son's actions. Penny asks Eloise if Desmond will be all right, but Eloise says she does not know. Eloise says that for the first time in a long time she does not know what will happen next. Soon afterward, a nurse approaches Penny and tells her that Desmond is in the recovery room; implying the surgery was successful. Penny leaves little Charlie with the nurse and rushes to meet Desmond, who reminds her of his promise that he would never leave her.

Eloise leaves. As she exits the hospital, she is approached by Charles Widmore, who asks about Desmond's condition. She replies that Desmond is fine, and that his daughter is inside the hospital, suggesting that he goes and talk to her. Widmore remarks that he has sacrificed his relationship with Penny. Eloise replies angrily that Widmore knows nothing about sacrifice; she had to send her own son to the Island. Widmore retorts that Daniel is his son as well. Eloise slaps Widmore across the face and leaves.

 

[Kiddnets]

Also what i find semi comical is the fact that you could blackmail someone to not only quit but also NOMINATE you and his replacement but you can't convince him to write a silly letter of recommendation. Totally unrealistic.Blackmailer: Ok, so you will quit your job, give me the job and no one will know you secretsVictim: Ok, BUT I wont be writing that letter for you, no way, I will lose my job and give it to you, but the letter is way out of line. No way you get all that!

I think this referenced back to the island, when the mercenaries killed Alex after Ben called their bluff. This time Ben wasn't willing to take the chance, however remote, that Alex's life would get destroyed.

All this stuff about Alex being Ben's "daughter" - correct me if I'm wrong but didn't he simply kidnap her as an infant? Its been so long I almost forget.....

 

[Shirtless]

Not of huge significance, but the principal said that if Linus blackmails him, then he would "torch" Alex's future chances. I took that to mean he would write a scathing letter of recommendation, as opposed to not write one at all.

That means Linus can't just throw the letter of recommendation into the blackmailing package, because the principal could easily resign AND write a bad letter of recommendation. Linus has no way of controlling what's in the letter.

 

[Joseph]

Not of huge significance, but the principal said that if Linus blackmails him, then he would "torch" Alex's future chances. I took that to mean he would write a scathing letter of recommendation, as opposed to not write one at all. That means Linus can't just throw the letter of recommendation into the blackmailing package, because the principal could easily resign AND write a bad letter of recommendation. Linus has no way of controlling what's in the letter.

but then ben could just release the emails showing the scandal anyway...He still has that to hold over the principal's head regardless of what is agreed upon.

 

[Mario Kart]

Not of huge significance, but the principal said that if Linus blackmails him, then he would "torch" Alex's future chances. I took that to mean he would write a scathing letter of recommendation, as opposed to not write one at all. That means Linus can't just throw the letter of recommendation into the blackmailing package, because the principal could easily resign AND write a bad letter of recommendation. Linus has no way of controlling what's in the letter.

but then ben could just release the emails showing the scandal anyway...He still has that to hold over the principal's head regardless of what is agreed upon.

At what cost though? Ben uses the emails to get the principal's job then Ben uses the emails to get Alex into Yale and then what? Pretty soon people begin to look at Ben as some deviant who does not deserve to be principal and possibly think he and Alex have something going on. The long run is best to drop it because Ben would look more and more terrible.

 

[Shirtless]

Not of huge significance, but the principal said that if Linus blackmails him, then he would "torch" Alex's future chances. I took that to mean he would write a scathing letter of recommendation, as opposed to not write one at all. That means Linus can't just throw the letter of recommendation into the blackmailing package, because the principal could easily resign AND write a bad letter of recommendation. Linus has no way of controlling what's in the letter.

but then ben could just release the emails showing the scandal anyway...He still has that to hold over the principal's head regardless of what is agreed upon.

And the principal could write a bad letter of rec despite agreeing to write a good one. <shrug> Ironically there's a certain amount of trust that needs to occur for blackmail to be successful.

 

[David Yudkin]

Not of huge significance, but the principal said that if Linus blackmails him, then he would "torch" Alex's future chances. I took that to mean he would write a scathing letter of recommendation, as opposed to not write one at all. That means Linus can't just throw the letter of recommendation into the blackmailing package, because the principal could easily resign AND write a bad letter of recommendation. Linus has no way of controlling what's in the letter.

Why not just agree to back off and let the principal write and submit his recommendation and then revisit the hostile takeover a few weeks later? What's the principal going to do, contact Yale and say he didn't really mean what he said?

 

[Shirtless]

Not of huge significance, but the principal said that if Linus blackmails him, then he would "torch" Alex's future chances. I took that to mean he would write a scathing letter of recommendation, as opposed to not write one at all. That means Linus can't just throw the letter of recommendation into the blackmailing package, because the principal could easily resign AND write a bad letter of recommendation. Linus has no way of controlling what's in the letter.

but then ben could just release the emails showing the scandal anyway...He still has that to hold over the principal's head regardless of what is agreed upon.

Also he certainly can't release the e-mails right away, or else the principal's letter of rec has no weight. Recommended by adulterous principal who resigned out of shame, YES! I suppose Ben could release the e-mails after Alex's admissions decision has been made, but who knows if it would be worth it at that point.