bobbysketch

“What is the Monster?” That is the question that John Locke asked Benjamin Linus with a gun pointed to his head in the “oh my God, they are really dragging this story out pretty far” second episode of season four. The answer? “I don’t know.”

Matthew Abbadon rounded together four people from different parts of the world to perform a covert mission. The mission: Make your way to “The Island” to find Ben. These four, “an idiot, a ghostbuster, an archaeologist and a drunk pilot,” found their way onto the Island with a helicopter. A helicopter that landed safely, even though it seemed as if it was going to go down hard.

We learn that each of these four seems to have some kind of personal motive in getting to the Island. Daniel to find his ex-girlfriend, who was an air hostess on Oceanic 815, the drunken pilot whose name I can’t recall was supposed to be the pilot on flight 815, and the archaeologist was interested in Dharma, it seems. She found a dharma logo attached to a Polar Bear skeleton in the middle of Tunisian desert. It’s not clear why the Ghostbuster, Myles, is there yet – but I’m sure we’ll learn soon enough.

Each of these four landed on the Island separately via parachute. Three of them, Daniel, Myles and the pilot, came across Jack and his people, while one, the archaeologist, was discovered by John Locke’s tribe. They knew that Naomi was dead because Naomi had used the code for “a gun is being pointed to my head:” “tell my sister I love her.” So, naturally, they were extremely skeptical of the survivors. Moreover, the rescue team had studied the plane manifest and knew that Juliette wasn’t on the plane. That’s when Myles exploded and told Jack that the real reason they were there was to find Ben.

Back with Locke and the archaeologist, Ben acknowledges that they are here for him. This is after he somehow managed to unload two bullets into the newcomers chest. Lucky for her, she was wearing a vest. She lies to them about why she is here, even though they don’t believe her. Instead of firing more bullets, and with a gun pointed to his own head, Ben does what he knows best: provide information. He lays out the girl’s life history and, once again, saves his ass while at the same time avoiding the “what is the monster?” question altogether. Oh Ben, you’re so smart.

The confusing part here is that back in the real world, the news of the remains of Flight 815 being found underwater is what motivated these people to come together. These four may smell a conspiracy because they immediately start to question the information the media is presenting about the discovery. All 324 passengers on the flight are supposed to be dead, confirmed. Yet Sayid notices that there is no shock or surprise by the rescue team in meeting the survivors. Did they know that they were still alive? What does Matthew Abbadon know and who is funding him? Who is motivating him? Why is he so interested in finding Ben, or even the survivors?

What’s the significance of the ship name Christian One? Will the helicopter be able to take off and leave the Island or will it just float around in circles? Who else thought that they would discover the Island underwater when they saw the rovers floating around in the sea? Did anyone else notice that the tail section of the plane was still attached underwater? Could it be a cover up? A conspiracy? I, for one, believe that it is. The real question is, what are they hiding? And even more, who are they?

Theories galore in the days to come. Theories such as “If Myles can see dead people, then maybe the Losties really are dead!” Nah. This isn’t the 6th Sense now. Or, “did you see that look Ben gave Locke when Hurley knew where the cabin was?! Jacob’s power is spreading to other people and Hurley might be one of them.

Alas, my eyelids are falling, so I must bid you farewell. Farewell.

Folks, tonight’s episode title intrigues the hell out of me. Can it be that we’ll actually get some answers to all of the time traveling scenarios that this show presents? If time travel is introduced, will it turn off a bunch of viewers as being too “sci-fi?” Who are confirmed dead? The survivors? Can it be that the Oceanic 6 know who’s dead, but still alive, and this is the secret that they are sharing? That’s why Matthew Ammadon asks “are they still alive?” Because they are! But the conspiracy is abound.

For more wonderful clues to tonight’s episode, check out Jeff Jensen’s post on EW.com.

I am awesome. In case any of you forgot. Yes, say it again and again. Then say it one more time.

“The Beginning of the End” was the beginning of another set of mysteries surrounding televisions best show: Lost. Even the die hard fans are left scratching their heads after every episode of the show. If you’re a newbie, you’re going to need to catch up (abc.com is streaming in HD). Once you are caught up, you too will be asking: Wait a minute, Jacob’s cabin can fly? Was Christian Shepherd the man in Jacob’s chair? Who are the members of the Oceanic 6? What the heck is the Oceanic 6? What’s the secret that the survivors of the Island are sharing? Who is Hugo hiding from? Your answers are as good as mine, but I put mine in writing, and I encourage you to do the same.

Before I get to who could have been in Jacob’s chair, I have to ask how the cabin found Hugo. First it was in front of him, then behind him. The cabin seemed to have the black box power in its ability to find Hugo, or, more likely, Wizard of Oz power in being swept up by a storm and dropped at various places. This is probably the same power that made Locke and Sawyer see Locke’s father, the same power that made Jack see his father and the same power that evokes the black smoke “security system.” Maybe it’s LSD? Maybe not. I know nothing about that stuff, I swear! OK, so as Hugo is running from “the eye” he falls and looks up to see…John Locke! That leads me to my John Locke dethroned Jacob theory. Locke has always had a special connection to the Island. Could it be that he and the Island finally became one (insert cheesy Spice Girls sound clip: Two Become One) after his father was murdered? Ben had told him that he needed to get rid of his father to be who the Others thought he would be. The Others seem to think of Locke as a god of sorts – maybe he is. Could it be that he learned how to manipulate the black box and he somehow managed to replace Jacob?

That all said, many believe that Jack’s father, Christian, was the man in the chair. That can be seen by the white sneakers and the suit that the man is wearing. And further solidified by the enhanced screen capture to the left (click for larger version). If that is indeed the case, I don’t know that I have an explanation for it. Because I don’t see any connection between Hurley and Jack’s father, unless John Locke is somehow also Christian Shepherd? Or Christian Shepherd is Jacob and this is the beginning of Jacob’s manipulation of Hurley. But that begs the question, whose eye was it that we say? And was that person in the cabin with Christian? In looking at the capture, above, I’d have to say that it’s the Russian, aka Patchy, aka Mikhail. That may be why we only see one eye and even though he must have gotten blown up by the grenade, he seems to be immortal. What was he doing there? Maybe he was getting the lowdown on Ben – after all, he did lose trust in Ben in The Looking Glass.

The premise of this episode is that the castaways are made to choose sides: Jack (the shepherd) or Locke (the philosopher). Quite a few of them chose to go with Locke, the guy who wants to stay on the Island. I found that to be odd – that they’d abandon Jack so easily after trying so hard to help him find the rescue. Jack obviously wants to leave, but we learned in the captivating finale from last season, “Through the Looking Glass,” that he ultimately realizes Locke was right.

That leads me to the theory of double futures. We’ve seen far into the future (a la bearded Jack) and we’ve seen not so far into the future (a la Crazy Hurley). From those two scenes, I’ve now deduced that it’s not Juliette in the coffin as I had previously predicted, rather it’s Hurley. Hurley ends up being the first of the Island survivors (possibly the Oceanic 6, more on that later) to feel the need to return to the Island. When he tells Jack during their game of hoops, Jack yells at him for suggesting the idea. He also wants to know if Hurley will “tell.” My guess is that Hurley does plan to tell, but ends up getting murdered for doing so. No one wants to attend his funeral because either they are 1. Stuck on the Island or 2. Upset with him for having wanted to violate the pact. As much as I want this theory to work, I still believe in my gut that it’s Juliette that’s in the coffin, but I have to go with the clues here.

Who is Hugo hiding from?

Charlie tells Hugo “You’re hiding from him.” I watched it over and over again, and I’m still not sure if he said “”hiding from him” or “hiding from it.” If he did say “him,” then who is Hugo hiding from in the future? John Locke? Ben? Men that are trying to possibly get Hugo back to the Island. And if you believe my theory of Locke dethrones Jacob, maybe Locke is the one manipulating the future so that Hugo sees his dearly departed friend from the Island and persuades him to come back.

The Oceanic 6

What is “The Oceanic 6?” Hugo tells the cops that he’s one of the Oceanic 6. We’re led to believe that they are the people who survived the crash of Oceanic 815, but maybe they aren’t. Maybe the Oceanic 6 are six people that won some kind of lottery. Or maybe not. However, here’s my take on what, and who, the Oceanic 6 are. They are the six people who the world knows about that survived the crash. They are the six people that left the Island and took the fall for everyone else – covered up for them. The identity of the Oceanic 6 is the big secret that the survivors share. Hurley is one of them, Jack is another. I’d have to say that Kate is not. Since she was running from the law prior to the Island, she’s probably got a new identity, so the world wouldn’t know about her. I’d also have to say that the rest would have to be people who have shown positive leadership on the Island, shown the courage to take responsibility for others while sacrificing their own selves: Jin, Sayid, Desmond and…Christian Shepherd. Desmond wasn’t on Flight 815, but I think that’s a deal that will be worked out after they get off the Island. Why not Sun? Or Claire and Aaron like Desmond had predicted? Sun will die during childbirth – she conceived the baby on the Island. Claire and Aaron will be rescued, but their identities will be kept secret by the Oceanic 6. Locke, you ask? Christian Shepherd is Jacob is Locke. You figure it out

So there you have it, folks. Lots of questions, no real good answers. Tons of easter eggs and just a whole lot of fun. Episode 2 is Thursday, yay!

1. Doritos Rat

2. TidetoGo

3. Audi R8

Honorable Mention: Hyundai GENESIS (because it reminds me of Sega Genesis from back in the day)