The Hostile Blog

LOST In Black and White

2009-05-14T14:08:00.025-05:00

"Two players. Two sides. One is light, one is dark."

In the Season 5 finale, "The Incident," we became privy to a whole new dimension of Lost. For years, fans have suspected that there is one overarching force in constant battle with another. The heavy themes of black and white as well as good and evil people on Lost seemed to back this theory up. But last night, we learned so much more.

"The Incident" started off with an amazing scene. We see a relatively young man, dressed in white, spinning a tapestry. This is the notorious Jacob. He gets up and exits the room and outside he uses a primitive-looking device to catch a fish. Looking out into the ocean, he sees a pretty large ship. The Black Rock? Most likely. But Jacob does not seem surprised to see the ship at all.

Another man, however, comes out to greet him. This man, notably, is wearing black. For now, we will call him Esau, as this is the generally accepted name in most Lost communities, coming from the Biblical brother of Jacob.

Esau questions how the boat find the Island. Jacob says that he will have to ask them once they get to the Island. Esau replies, saying that he doesn't have to ask because Jacob brought it there himself. He asks if Jacob is still trying to prove him wrong, which Jacob admits to, saying that Esau is wrong. Esau says that people coming to the Island bring destruction and corruption, and that "it always ends the same." Jacob replies that "it" only ends once and anything before that is simply progress.

Esau tells Jacob just how much he wants to kill him and how one day, he will find a loophole which will allow him to do this. He then walks away, leaving Jacob to eat his fish...in the shadow of the statue.

This is one of the most powerful and important scenes in all five seasons of Lost to date. We now realize the real struggle going on and who the players are. One is Jacob, the man in white - the good guy. The other, called Esau by fans, is the man in black - the bad guy. Is this the epic struggle, the "war" we have been waiting for? Furthermore, since the smoke monster seemed to serve Fake Locke's interests, is Esau an incarnation of the Smoke Monster, or vice versa? It seems very probable.

We learn later on that Locke is not Locke at all. Locke's body is dumped on the beach by Illana and shown to the rest of the Others. The real Locke has manipulated Ben, who now thrusts a knife into Jacob's chest, killing him. As Jacob whispers "they're coming," Esau, in the form of Locke, throws Jacob into the fire, where he burns.

A few short minutes later, and season five has ended with, instead of a smash to black and a white-on-black LOST, a fade to white and a black-on-white LOST. The inverted colors for an inverted episode where evil has prevailed over good...for now.

What's in a Name? - Follow the Leader

2009-05-08T19:07:00.022-05:00

Hello, and welcome to our newest segment, entitled "What's in a Name?" It will follow chronicle the names of primarily episodes, but also locations, characters, and more, and the thinking process that goes into these names. The names on Lost are almost always intentional and well thought-out, so I figured this was a good idea (suggested by Nicole).

For our first segment, let's look at "Follow the Leader." A pretty straightforward title. Follow the leader. First of all, who is the leader? Well, in 1977, the leader is apparently Jack. Jack, throughout the entire episode, is being followed in his plan to detonate Jughead and destroy the last three years of their past.

He even has two of the main leaders of the Hostiles, Eloise and Richard, following him, along with Sayid. But Kate, who once assured him while on board Penny's boat, The Searcher, that she has always been on his side, is fed up with him. She doesn't want to erase everything that has happened because she, unlike Jack, knows that there was plenty of good that happened during that time. So Kate will not be following the leader.

In the 2007 timeline, the obvious leader is John Locke. John returns to the Others after being gone for three years and immediately takes up the post as leader of the group. He tells Richard that he finally has a purpose and that they have an errand to run. After instructing Richard on how to save himself, who was flashing through time, he decides that they are going to see Jacob. Richard is clearly startled by Locke's eagerness, but he ultimately decides that they will do whatever Locke pleases, after Locke questions whether he truly is the leader. Locke then leads them back to his speech in front of the whole group, where he reveals that he will be taking them all to see Jacob...another leader.

Ben is on the outside looking in at Richard and Locke, the two leaders. Richard is following Locke's word, while Locke must follow Richard because he is apparently the only one who can bring him to Jacob. So Richard and Locke are both leading each other in different ways in this episode. There are really so many leaders in this episode. Jack, Ellie, Widmore, Richard (in both timelines), Locke, and Jacob. But it is abundantly clear that Jack is the leader being followed in 1977 and Locke in 2007.

And that's "Follow the Leader." Stay tuned for more posts this week leading up to the epic two-hour season finale, and don't forget to suscribe to the site, comment, and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thehostileblog.

Kill Jacob - Vol. 1

2009-05-06T21:05:00.027-05:00

"Then why are we going to Jacob?

"So I can kill him."

Well, we are now just one week away from the Season Five finale. Crazy, isn't it? Before this episode, it just didn't seem real, but now it seems to have sunk in. Only two hours of Lost left for this year, and they look like they're going to be two awesome hours. This post will discuss the amazing cliffhanger at the end of "Follow the Leader," in which John Locke revealed to Ben that he was going to see Jacob in order to...KILL HIM!?!?!

Yes, kill Jacob. I don't think anybody really saw this coming whatsoever. He's going to kill Jacob? What? Why? These were the thoughts flying through my mind after this amazing reveal. I am almost 100% positive that Locke is following the will of the Island. He definitely knows things that he ought to have no business knowing, and it seems pretty clear that the Island is what is giving him all of this knowledge. So it is also controlling his will.

So the Island really wants Jacob killed? Why? I had always thought that at the very least, Jacob and the Island had the same agenda. But I theorized since Season 3 that Jacob was actually literally a human representation of the Island - the Island in human form. That seems almost 100% wrong at this point. Ben was absolutely shocked when Locke revealed what he was going to do. Apparently this was the newfound "purpose" that Richard noticed earlier in the episode:

Locke really came into his own in this episode. Where is he receiving this mysterious knowledge? "The Island told me," he says. Does the Island truly want Jacob dead? Well, that seems to be a question that will be answered in the finale, just one week from now. But for now, the Others are all just following the leader.

The Hostiles' Camp(s)

2009-05-05T15:50:00.007-05:00

Recently, this camp has featured prominently in Lost. It is where young Ben first met Charles Widmore and where Daniel Faraday was killed by his own mother, Eloise Hawking. It appears to be a very primitive campsite, which supports the idea that before the Purge, the Hostiles were a bit behind in terms of technology.

It is also interesting that these yurts seem to be almost exactly the same to the ones seen by Sayid at the decoy village in 2004. Did the Others actually live in that village at one point? We do not know, but it seems very possible.

We also saw, in 5.03: Jughead, that the Hostiles once lived in the camp that once belonged to the United States Army. As Richard said, they were forced to kill all of the army members after warning them and demanding that they leave.

Not too long of a post, but I just wanted to comment on the similarities. The state of their camps seem to mirror the state of the group as a whole. We know that they lived in their current camp (as in 1977-current) from at least the 70s until the late 80s. Presumably, they lived there until the Purge, after which they took up residence at the Barracks. They also became much more technologically advanced and civilized after the Purge, no longer the hut-dwelling Hostiles that they once were. They became "The Others."

We're Back!

2009-05-03T19:19:00.000-05:00

Well, as you may have noticed, we were on a bit of a hiatus. I lost my internet connection for a while, but it has been repaired and should be good from now on. We are now fully back in action and I believe we have a new member of the blog team, Hanelle. Stay posted for new posts in the next few days while we wait for 5.15, "Follow the Leader."

The Death And Destiny Of Daniel Faraday

2009-05-01T14:56:00.033-05:00

Daniel Faraday was a prisoner of his own destiny. That destiny began, and ended, with his own death. Daniel's mother Eloise Hawking, shot an armed man who was threatening one of her people. As this armed man lay dying, he looked up at her and said this:

"You knew! You always knew...you knew this was gonna happen...and you sent me here anyway..."

Confused, Eloise asked this man who he was.

"I'm your son."

And then, her son died.

It is unknown how soon after that awful incident Eloise left the Island, or whether her son Daniel was born before it. What is known, is that she conceived Daniel with the Island's leader, Charles Widmore. What is also known is that Eloise had accepted her child's fate, and she decided she would guide him on his path to fulfill his destiny on the Island. Eloise noticed early on that her son had great potential. Years after leaving, she had decided it was time to start guiding Daniel in the direction that she knew would lead him back to the Island to meet his fate. She came to Daniel and explained to him that he had a destiny to achieve great things...

"Your gift, Daniel, is your mind--a mind that is meant for science, mathematics. And it's my... job to keep you on your path. So... unfortunately, there's no more time for distractions."

In 1994, Daniel graduated from a doctoral program at Oxford, becoming the youngest doctor ever to graduate. While at school, he developed a relationship with his research assistance, Theresa Spencer. He received a 1.5 million dollar research grant from his father, whom Daniel only knew as a wealthy industrialist.

To celebrate his graduation, Eloise took Daniel (and only Daniel) out to lunch. Daniel asked his mother why she is so rude to Theresa, and she replied that Daniel will only hurt the women in his life, hinting that she knew his future. After hearing about the grant (and the person behind it), Eloise gave Dan a gift, and left. The gift was a journal, with a written note on the front page:

2 years later, Daniel has already become a professor of Physics at Oxford, while using his grant to conduct experiments in space/time on the side. Also during his time at Oxford, for unknown reasons, Daniel began researching the DHARMA Initiative extensively, possibly with the help of Charles Widmore. He kept everything he ever learned about DHARMA in the journal his mother gave him.

One day after class, a man named Desmond Hume came up to him and said that he thought he had just been to the future, and that Daniel himself told Desmond where to find him. Daniel concluded that Desmond has become "unstuck" in time, and that he had indeed been to the future, where he claimed to have spoken with Daniel "on an Island." When Daniel told him that the side-effects of travelling back and forth through time can be deadly, Desmond asked for his help in stopping the strange occurrences...

"Every equation needs stability, something known. It's called a constant. Desmond, you have no constant. When you go to the future, nothing there is familiar. So if you want to stop this, then you need to find something there...something that you really, really care about....that also exists back here, in 1996. "

After helping Desmond, Daniel began experimenting on himself, and Theresa, using his device. This eventually lead to severe "temporal displacement" and the complete mental collapse of Theresa, and Daniel's own mental problems including short term memory loss.

Soon, his condition made it difficult for him to continue his work. Daniel retired to Essex, Massachusetts, under the watch of a caretaker.

One day in November of 2004, Daniel received a visit from none other than Charles Widmore. Daniel still had no idea that Charles was his father, and never did find out before his death. Daniel had been watching the discovery of Oceanic 815 on the bottom of the ocean, and was visibly upset, although he couldn't say why. Charles comforted him by admitting the plane in the Sunda trench was an elaborate hoax...

"Daniel, the real Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on an island--a special island with unique scientific properties. I want to send you to the Island. It will further your research, show you things you'd never dream of. But more importantly, it will heal you, Daniel--your mind, your memory."

Daniel took some time to think about it, and was soon visited by his mother, who encouraged him to take Charles' offer, and go to the Island. She knew that he would die at her own young hands on that Island, but none the less, she pushed him to go. She knew that there was no fighting it, and that this was destined to happen, whether she went along with it or not. Daniel only had one question for his mother...

"Will...will it make you proud of me?"

"Yes, Daniel. It will."

So, Daniel joined Widmore's science team and travelled to the Island where he would meet his end. On the way there, he developed a romantic relationship with another member of the science team, Charlotte Lewis. His skills as a physicist were needed to calculate an exact compass bearing on which to approach the Island, or they risked extreme and unpredictable side effects. Once they arrived on the Island, he immediately found that some of the passengers of Oceanic 815 were indeed alive and well on the Island, and he and the other members of the science team joined with them under the guise of rescue. Daniel also noticed the unique scientific properties on the Island, and did experiments to verify what he had already suspected: that the Island has the ability to manipulate time. Soon enough, Daniel came full circle and finished something that began 8 years previous...

"Desmond, listen. When it happens again, Desmond, I need you to get on a train. Get on a train and go to Oxford, Oxford University, Queens College Physics Department. Alright? I need you to find me."

Although Daniel presumably had no recollection of the encounter in 1996 due to his memory problems, he later found evidence in his notebook that he had succeeded in sending Desmond to find his past-self...

The real reason for the mission to the Island, finding and capturing Ben Linus, was getting out of hand, and once Daniel learned that Ben was heading to the Orchid station, he decided it was time to act. He needed to get everyone off the Island, or they would be stuck there forever. He started taking people to the freighter in small groups. Halfway to the freighter, Daniel's fears were confirmed when an incident occurred. Once he got back to the beach and saw that the camp had disappeared, he shared his theory with the other survivors...

"Think of the Island like a record spinning on a turntable... only now, that record is skipping. Whatever Ben Linus did down at the Orchid station... I think... it may have... dislodged us."

"Dislodged us from what?"

"Time"

And according to Daniel, the skips were going to keep happening unless they could get help from the outside world. Daniel explained the "rules" that his research taught him to the other survivors, although there was really only one: Whatever Happened, Happened. They cannot change the past. Even if they tried, they would fail every single time. When Daniel and the other survivors determined, after a flash, that Desmond was still inside a DHARMA station there on the Island, Daniel decided to try something...

"You're the only person who can help us because, Desmond... the rules... the rules don't apply to you. You're special. You're uniquely and miraculously special... Listen, I need you to listen, or people are gonna die. My name is Daniel Faraday, and right now me and everyone else you left behind--we're in serious danger. You're the only person who can help us. I need you to go back to Oxford University. Go back to where we met. I need you to go there and find my mother!"

And with that message delivered, the Island moved through time yet again, and ironically, to a period in which Daniel himself would come face to face with his mother. A group of the Island's natives captured the science team, but Daniel soon figured out that the natives had a problem that would effect all of them. They had obtained a Hydrogen bomb which was unstable, and if he did not take care of it, it would explode and kill everyone on the Island. One of the natives, a young British woman who looked oddly familiar to him, took him to the bomb. Daniel seemed destined to encounter his mother at gunpoint...

"Just bury it. Bury it, and everything will be fine. Remember, your superior ordered me to take care of this...You wanna take care of this bomb? You bury it!"

"How do you know that?!"

"Because 50 years from now, this island is still here!"

"What did you just say?"

"Whoa. Take it easy. I can explain myself a little better. I know how this sounds. Believe me, it's... it's hard to explain. 50 years from now, me and my... me and my friends--that's where we're from, okay? And--here's the key--everything's fine. I'm not saying it's perfectly fine, but there hasn't been any atomic blast, all right?"

Shortly after that unbelievable conversation, the Island moved again. The increasingly violent shifts through time had begun to take a toll on the mind of Charlotte. They started happening more often, and soon enough other survivors started showing the same symptoms as Charlotte. On the way there, several shifts occurred back to back, and Charlotte's mind had finally had enough. She collapsed, and Daniel stayed with her while the others continued on. Knowing that she was about to die, Charlotte had a confession for Daniel...

"I grew up here...on the island...When I was little, living here, there was this man... a crazy man, he really scared me. And he told me that I had to leave the island and never ever come back. He told me that if I came back I would die....Daniel – I think that man was you!"

And Charlotte died. Down in the Orchid, John Locke fixed the problem, one more flash occurred, and Charlotte's body disappeared. Daniel was distraught, and swore that he was not going to tell Charlotte was she said. He would try desperately to change things, even if he knew it was pointless.

Daniel explained to the others whenever they were then, they were stuck there for good. The soon discovered that they were in 1974, and they entered the DHARMA Initiative compound under guise of being shipwrecked. The first night there, Daniel saw what he had been dreading...

Soon after seeing the young Charlotte, Daniel left the Island on the DHARMA submarine and travelled to Ann Arbor, DHARMA headquarters. He remained there, doing research for DHARMA. It is unknown when, why, or under what conditions, Dan left, but it is my opinion that he subconsciously wanted to avoid the young Charlotte at all costs, for fear of fulfilling her memory of him. It didn't matter of course, because three years later he saw a photo of the new recruits on the Island, and that compelled him to return. He had to find out how Jack, Kate, and Hugo were able to travel back to 1977 on the Island. The destiny that he had tried to flee was rapidly approaching...

He went to Jack as soon as he arrived back on the Island, and asked him how they were able to return. Jack told him that they were on a certain flight, and that they were told which flight by Daniel's mother. Dan told Jack that he did not belong there, and that his mother was wrong in sending him there. In his research of the DHARMA Initiative, Dan had found out about an incident that was going to occur that very day. An incident that would start a chain of events which would eventually lead to Charlotte's return to the Island, and her death. He went to Pierre Chang and warned him about this incident. Somehow, while Dan was in Ann Arbor, he had decided that he was wrong about not being able to change things. He had decided that he would do whatever it took to keep Charlotte from coming back to the Island and dying. This would mean telling her exactly what he had avoided: that when Dr. Chang started evacuating people, she had to leave the Island and never come back.

Dan was already playing into his own destiny without knowing it. If he had known what his mother knew, he would have realized that he could not, and would not, succeed in changing anything. Dan had come up with a plan, and he told the others that he needed to venture into the jungle and find the Hostiles in order to carry this plan out. He had figured out that the young woman who he told to bury the bomb in 1954 was his own mother, and he had to find her. When Jack and Kate questioned him, he explained his reasoning to them...

"In about four hours, the DHARMA folks at the swan work site--they're gonna--gonna drill into the ground and accidentally tap into a massive pocket of energy. The result of the release of this energy would be catastrophic. So in order to contain it, they're gonna have to cement the entire area in, like Chernobyl. And this containment--the place they built over it--I believe you called it "the Hatch." The Swan hatch? Because of this one accident, these people are gonna spend the next 20 years keeping that energy at bay... by pressing a button... a button that your friend Desmond will one day fail to push, and that will cause your plane--Oceanic 815--to crash on this island. And because your plane crashed, a freighter will be sent to this Island--a freighter I was on and Charlotte was on and so forth. This entire chain of events--it's gonna start happening this afternoon. But... we can change that. I studied relativistic physics my entire life. One thing emerged over and over--can't change the past. Can't do it. Whatever happened, happened. All right? But then I finally realized... I had been spending so much time focused on the constants, I forgot about the variables. Do you know what the variables in these equations are, Jack? Us. We're the variables. People. We think. We reason. We make choices. We have free will. We can change our destiny. I think I can negate that energy under the Swan. I think I can destroy it. If I can, then that hatch will never be built, and your plane... your plane will land, just like it's supposed to, in Los Angeles."

"And just how exactly do you plan on destroying this energy?"

"I'm gonna detonate a hydrogen bomb."

But as we come to realize, the fatal flaw in Daniel's plan was this: what if his entire thought process itself was already pre-determined? What if Charlotte's death itself was destined to happen because it would lead to his rejection of his own theories about how the universe worked? What if he was always meant to come to this conclusion, because it was the only way that he would charge into the Hostile's camp waving a gun at Richard Alpert, demanding to see Eloise...

...which would, in turn, lead to his own death?

The death his mother would always know of, and the death that she would guide him directly towards. She and Charles had always known what Daniel had abandoned at the end: that no matter how much you would like to save the ones you love, you cannot change anything. Whatever Happened, Happened. So what does this say about Charles and Eloise? That they don't care enough to try and change things, or that they are smart enough to know that it will make no difference? That is left up to us to determine, but I myself lean towards the latter.

R.I.P. Daniel Faraday.

Jacob: The God of Lost

2009-04-20T21:45:00.002-05:00

Jacob. One of the biggest mysteries in the history of Lost. It is truly remarkable how comparable his character is to God, or the idea of God. First of all, let's look at what we know of Jacob so far:

Jacob was first mentioned only as "Him" for a good time on Lost. He was the mysterious leader of the Others, even before we knew that Henry/Ben was their leader in practice. We later heard mention of Jacob's list and saw his name in the Room 23 video in a slide that said "God loves you as he loved Jacob."

And of course, in The Man Behind the Curtain, Ben was forced to take John Locke to visit Jacob. He took Locke to Jacob's Cabin and introduced him to "Jacob." But all Locke could see was an empty chair. Locke called Ben a liar and said that Jacob does not exist, that Ben is truly the Man Behind the Curtain, the Wizard of Oz. But then it all changed when everything in the Cabin began to shake and Ben was thrown off of his feet. Locke heard Jacob call out to him, saying "Help me..." We then saw a flash of an image of Jacob himself:

Years earlier, Richard Alpert was confronted by a young Charles Widmore about bringing a young Dharma boy, Benjamin Linus, to their Temple. Richard responded that it was what Jacob wanted, and that Widmore should know that the Island chooses who the Island chooses. This furthers the theory that Jacob is a representative of the Island.

Jacob was later mentioned by Ben, now a Hostile himself, when asking whether Widmore was the one who wanted baby Alex killed, or if it was Jacob's will. It seemed that it was Widmore's will as he did not answer at all. Once again, Jacob was used as an excuse for somebody carrying out something having to do with their own agenda.

This is mainly how comparable Jacob is to any type of god in any society, whether you believe in one or not. That's the thing about Jacob: not everyone even believes he exists. But it definitely appears that he does exist, seeing as we have heard him speak and we have seen him. Many religions believe that we have heard the voice of God through certain means, and some even believe that we have seen him (i.e. through Jesus Christ).

Also, how many times have people passed off their actions as the will of God over the years? War, murder, and torture have all been justified based on the claim that they are approved of by God. It is the same in Lost, where Ben justifies kidnapping children by saying Jacob wanted it to be done (did he?) and Widmore implies that Jacob wants Danielle and Alex to be murdered. Jacob, like the idea of a god, is often made the scapegoat of lesser humans.

Anyhow, I just wanted to give a short analysis on this topic. Leave a comment with what you think, I'd love to hear it. Also, if you haven't already, you can follow our blog with your Google, Blogger, AIM, Yahoo, or OpenID accounts. You can also follow us on Twitter. All links are on the sidebar to the right.

Thanks for reading!

Hostile Highlight: Richard Alpert (Updated to 515)

2009-04-19T21:27:00.029-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm Finli Otego, and this will be my first post here. I thought it appropriate to start with an examination of Ricardus Alpert's namesake. I'm taking Nicole's lead here, and posting something I did awhile back on the Spoiler TV forums, while expanding on few things here and there. Richard Alpert has popped up in a lot of important places over the course of 50 years in the world of LOST. Who is he? Why does he appear not to age? Is he also part of the ghostly"undead", like Christian Shephard seems to be? Has he been resurrected from death, as Locke has? What is his position in the Others' hierarchy? How long has he been on the Island? Where does he buy his eyeliner? These are just a few of the questions we have about him.
As most LOST fans know, the writers often name characters after real people, usually those whom have similar personalities or character attributes. The real Dr. Richard Alpert (born April 6, 1931), also known as Baba Ram Dass, is a contemporary spiritual teacher who wrote the 1971 bestseller Be Here Now. He is well-known for his association with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s, both having been dismissed from their professorships for experiments on the effects of psychedelic drugs on human subjects. He is also known for his travels to India and his association with the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba. It was these life-changing experiences in India that inspired Ram Dass to write the contemporary spiritual classic, "Be Here Now", in which he teaches the harmony of all people and religions. We have yet to explore much of the spiritual or religious nature of LOST's Alpert, but I expect to see some similarities with the real one. We have already seen some eastern influence in how Alpert goes about selecting a potential leader for the Island.
I'm going to approach this next Hostile Highlight chronologically from Richard's point of view.

1954 ("Jughead")

After the Hostiles take over an American military camp which came to the Island to run an H-bomb test, Ellie brings three strangers (an American man, a British woman, and a Chinese man) whom they assume are part of the American Military. The American tells Richard they're scientists who are there to disarm the dangerous H-bomb. Later, Richard is confronted by a mysterious stranger named John Locke who strolls right into their camp. Locke gives him a compass of some unknown significance, and tells Richard that he is from 50 years in the future. He also tells Richard that he is their leader, and gives him his birth date. John tells him that if he doesn't believe him, he should pay him a visit on his birthday. After impatiently asking how to leave the Island, John Locke disappears before his eyes, along with the other three strangers.

"Look, I... certainly don't want to contradict myself, but... we have a very specific process for selecting our leadership, and it starts at a very, very young age."

June 1956 ("Cabin Fever")
Curious about John Locke, Richard takes a trip to Tustin, California, to confirm his birth. It turns out he was telling the truth. How did Richard leave the Island?

1961 ("Cabin Fever")

Richard again travels to California to seemingly test John Locke's statement that he is the Others' leader, using objects from which he must find the one that "already belongs" to him. John appears to fail, leaving Richard disappointed. I think it's safe to assume that John was supposed to pick the compass. The test that Richard gives John is obviously inspired by the test that the next potential Dalai Lama is given by the Panchen Lama (whose job it is to find the next Dalai Lama). The purpose of the test is to determine if the soul of the last Dalai Lama has indeed been reincarnated into the body of the child in question; hence, "which of these already belong to you?" Damon and Carlton have referred to Richard as a sort of Panchen Lama for the Island, with the responsibility of finding the next leader.

"Okay, now tell me, John, which of these things belong to you?"

1973 ("The Man Behind The Curtain")

While in the jungle, Richard comes across a young boy named Ben. Ben tells him that he saw his dead mother, and that he is chasing her. Richard, who is quite visibly interested, asks if she died on the Island. Ben tells him no. Ben, clearly upset, then asks to join Richard and his people. Richard tells him that may be possible, but he will have to be "very, very patient". Why is the location of Ben's mother's death of such importance to Richard?

"Did she die here, on the Island?"

1974 ("LaFleur")

After two of his men disappear and the truce with DHARMA seems to have been broken, Richard strolls into the barracks to have a conversation with Horace Goodspeed. After that conversation goes nowhere, a stranger approaches him and confesses to murdering the two missing men in self-defense. When Richard questions him further, the southern stranger reveals that he knows about the H-bomb, and Richard's encounter with John Locke 20 years earlier. The man tells Richard he is NOT part of DHARMA, so the truce has not been broken. Richard then asks for the body of Paul for proof of justice, which he gets. The truce remains unbroken. When did this truce take place? What were the circumstances that warranted it? Why is DHARMA breaking it by building the Swan station in Hostile territory?

"If you're not a member of the DHARMA Initiative, then what are you?"

Late 1977 Part One ("Whatever Happened, Happened"/"Dead Is Dead")

After James and a woman named Kate cross the line asking for Richard, he comes to them and finds out that Benjamin Linus has been shot in the chest. James and Kate ask Richard to help, but he warns them that if he does, Ben will never be the same again. "His innocence will be lost, and he will always be one of us." One of the others asks Richard to discuss this with Ellie and Charles first, but Richard counters with "I don't answer to them." He then takes Ben, and the two of them go inside a Temple. Later, after Ben has been healed, Charles angrily confronts Richard about it. Richard tells him that "Jacob wanted it done." Can Richard actually speak with Jacob? That seems to contradict what Ben tells Locke before their visit to Jacob.

"Jacob wanted it done. The Island chooses who the Island chooses. You know that."

Late 1977 Part Two ("The Variable"/"Follow The Leader")

The next day, Richard and the Hostiles are surprised by a DHARMA member who walks into their camp with a gun, demanding to speak with Eloise. Richard approaches the man, who has a gun on him, and recognizes him from somewhere. Richard tells him that Eloise isn't there, and the man demands to be taken to the H-bomb that he "told your people to bury." It is at his point that Richard realizes he met this man in 1954, and he dissappeared along with John Locke and the others. The man gives him the count of three, but before he finishes, Eloise emerges and shoots him. Richard is upset, believing that the man was bluffing. Before he dies, Eloise asks who he is, and the man tells her that he is her son. Charles shows up a moment later with two other DHARMA members who were crouching in the bushes. Eloise seems sure that the man who she killed was telling the truth, and she says that she is taking them to the bomb. She orders Richard to accompany her and the people, Kate and Jack. On the way, Kate leaves, and another man from the future named Sayid shows up and takes her place. Richard, Eloise, Jack and Sayid swim to the underground tunnels, and from there they go to where Jughead is hidden: directly underneath the DHARMA barracks.

Early 1989 ("Dead Is Dead")

Richard watches as Charles and Ben argue over whether the Island wants Danielle and her daughter Alex dead. Ben refuses to do it. Where does Richard weigh in on this decision? Does he know what the Island actually wants here?

December 1992 ("The Man Behind The Curtain")

Richard meets up with Ben at the barracks, after The Others wipe out the DHARMA Initiative using poison gas. Ben seems to be in a leadership position now. Has Ben already usurped Charles as leader? If so, what role did Richard play in the Purge of the DHARMA Initiative from the Island?

"You want us to, um...go get his body?"

Late 1992 Or Early 1993 ("Dead Is Dead")

Shortly after the purge, Richard informs Ben that the Galaga is leaving with Charles, who is being exiled as leader. Ben is replacing him. Richard tells Ben that he doesn't have to see Charles off, but Ben does so anyway.

"You don't have to see him off, Ben."

2001 ("Not In Portland"/"One Of Us")

Richard and Ethan travel to Miami under Ben's orders to bring a Fertility Specialist named Juliet Burke to the Island. Richard says that he is a representative of Mittelos Bioscience. He tells Juliet that where they're taking her, she'll "see things there you never imagined". The three of them travel to the Island on the Galaga.

"I think you're fine because deep down a part of you knows that the place we're taking you to is special."

December 2004 Part One ("The Man From Tallahassee"/"The Brig")

Richard is asked by Ben to bring Anthony Cooper to his house. After Locke blows up the Galaga, Richard escorts him and Ben to the room where Cooper is being held prisoner, much to Locke's surprise. This is presumably the first time Richard has seen Locke since 1961. What is going through his mind when he sees this man who he first met 50 years ago, looking exactly the same? The Others decide to abandon the barracks, and Ben invites Locke to join them. A few days later, Richard watches as Ben humiliates Locke in front of the entire camp by ordering him to kill Cooper, which of course he can't. Richard approaches Locke in private and tells him that Sawyer will do it, encouraging him to read Sawyer's file. Richard also hints to Locke that the Others are unhappy with Ben's leadership, and they are "looking for someone to remind that we're here for more important reasons." Is this how Ben's take over of leadership began? With Richard approaching him in private, and bad-mouthing the current leader?

"I want for you to find your purpose. And to do that, your father has to go, John."

December 19/20 2004 ("The Man Behind The Curtain"/"Greatest Hits")

Richard approaches Ben in his tent, where Ben reveals that it's his birthday. "You do remember birthdays, don't you Richard?" Locke enters their camp with Cooper's body, and demands to meet Jacob. Ben leaves with Locke to go visit Jacob. When Ben returns the next morning, he is alone, and he won't tell Richard what happened. Ben tells Richard that Jacob told him to raid the beach camp immediately, but Richard objects. Ben is clearly losing it, and Richard knows this.

"Look, what happened out there? Did John see..."

December 21 2004 ("Through The Looking Glass")

Richard tries to talk Ben out of his plan to intercept Jack and his group on their way to the radio tower, but fails to do so. Ben orders Richard to take everyone else to The Temple, "as planned".

"People are asking questions, Ben. About leaving home, about what happened to Locke, about Jacob..."

December 30 2004 ("There's No Place Like Home")

Ben signals Richard to ask for help in dealing with the mercenaries from the freighter. Richard and the Others capture Kate and Sayid, and make a deal with them to help rescue Ben. The Others take out the mercenaries, and Richard himself shoots Keamy. Ben tells Richard to wait for Locke near the Orchid. When Locke shows up, Richard welcomes him as their new leader. Minutes later, the Island is moved by Ben, and Locke disappears before Richard's eyes. Deja Vu.

"Hello, John. Welcome home."

Late 2007 ("Follow The Leader"/"Because You Left")

While buildind a ship in a bottle, Richard is told that after 3 years, John Locke is back. Richard greets him, noting a change in him. Locke tells him that he has a purpose now. Richard notices that Locke is with Ben and Sun Kwon, who asks about her husband in 1977. Richard tells her that he watched them all die. Locke tells Richard that they have an errand to run, so he, Locke, and Ben all trek out to the beechcraft. Locke tells Richard that soon a man will emerge with a bullet in his leg, and that Richard needs to help him. He also needs to tell him that he needs to bring back all the people who left, and to do that, he has to die. When Richard asks who this man is, Locke tells him that it is him, Locke. Richard goes to the past-Locke, and does everything present-Locke told him to. Afterward, present-Locke tells Richard to bring him to Jacob. Richard, obviously hesitent, tries to urge Locke to be patient, but Locke will have none of it. Once back at the camp, Locke gives a speech in which he tells all of the Others that he doesn't think it's right that they have to take orders from someone they have never met. He is going to bring them all to meet Jacob. Richard tells Ben that he thinks Locke is going to be trouble.

"I'm beginning to think that John Locke is going to be trouble."

Question of the Week: What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue?

2009-04-19T19:03:00.006-05:00

"What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Recently, we've heard this question all too much. The first time we heard this question was from Ilana to Frank. Frank had just returned from the main Island to the Hydra island when he was told by a worried 316 passenger how a group had acquired weapons and declared themselves in charge of the survivors. Frank confronted Ilana and Bram, who had been working on a crate for some time. Ilana pointed a gun at Frank and asked him what lays in the shadow of the statue.

Frank, of course, had no way of answering this question. When he could not, he was knocked out. Ilana commented that they would be bringing Frank along with them, wherever they are headed.

Years before this, Miles was grabbed by a group of men and tossed in a creepy-looking van. He was told not to go to the Island. He was then also asked what lies in the shadow of the statue. Once again, Miles could not answer, and was told that until he could answer this, he was not ready to go to the Island. The one doing the questioning was Bram, the same man who later comes to the Island via Flight 316.

What does lie in the shadow of the statue? Most theories involve The Orchid, Jughead, The Tempest, etc. Everybody is seemingly flabbergasted by this unanswerable question, and many wild theories have been thought up. The answer most likely is related to just who Bram and Ilana are working for, which is also a mystery. Some Like it Hoth showed us that they are almost definitely not working for Widmore. So are they working for Ben? Possibly. Others believe that they are working for a third party in the upcoming "war," possibly the re-formed Dharma Initiative.

Ultimately, the answer to the question is unknown by all, as demonstrated by Frank and Miles. It is almost certain that it is related to the mission involving the large crate being hauled by this sinister team.

Mythology Minute: Christian Shephard

2009-04-19T15:12:00.010-05:00

Having posted this over on the Spoiler TV forum a month or so ago, I thought I would share this all with those or you who may not have seen it, and I'll also try to add a few new points to it.

This installment of Mythology Minute (although I am aware that this will take you a lot longer than a minute to get through!) is focused on Christian Shephard.

Every time Christian appears in Lost, be it on-island, off-island, or in a flashback, I find him to be an extremely intriguing character, and quite a mysterious one at that. So, let's look at his appearances in Lost to date.

Lost Missing Pieces - Mobisode 13 - So It Begins

Although we didn't see this until after Season 3, this appearance by Christian Shephard was one of the most interesting (to say the least!) Christian calls Vincent to him, and at first, all we see are those odd looking pair of white tennis shoes...

Then, in a somewhat loving yet purposeful manner, he pets and praises Vincent and tells him:

"I need you to go find my son. He’s over there [...] unconscious. I need you to go wake him up.[...] He has work to do."

How did Christian know that Jack has work to do? What exactly did he mean by 'work'?
Perhaps he needs Jack to wake up in order for him to save Claire, Rose etc? But why couldn't Christian tell Jack this himself? Is it because he thought Jack needed time to adjust to his surroundings and to realize that this is no ordinary island?

Season 1 Episode 5 - White Rabbit

This was the first time (in the episode timeline) we see Christian after he died. He eerily appears to Jack in the water, then disappears and soon reappears amongst wreckage on the beach, and finally in the jungle.

We know that when Jack found his coffin, his body wasn't in it: where did it go?
Did Smokey take it for a test drive? Was he still getting his bearings on the island? Either way, why didn't he say anything to Jack? Was he really just an hallucination at this point or had he really appeared to Jack in order to guide him?

Season 3 Episode 1 - A Tale of Two Cities

Although we didn't actually see Christian in this episode, we hear his voice (or rather Jack hears it) through the intercom in the Hydra, saying quite a few things that are inaudible, but then we clearly hear him say:

"Let it go."

Is this a hallucination? What exactly does Christian mean by this? Is he just referring to the events we see in Jack's flashback? Or perhaps he is trying to coax Jack into "letting go" of his role as leader, because as we can clearly see, Jack is no longer in control at this point in time.

Season 4 Episode 1 - The Beginning of the End

Hurley stumbles across Jacob's cabin. A light appears from inside. Hurley cautiously walks up to the window, takes a peek inside, and sees...

Christian! Hanging out with Jacob, with his tennis shoes still on, and making himself quite at home. Why is he there? How did he find the cabin? He looks quite content rocking back and forth: why?

Season 4 Episode 10 - Something Nice Back Home

We see Christian twice in this episode. First, Christian appears to Jack in a flashforward. Jack hears the smoke alarm (perhaps because Smokey is taking the form of Christian..?) going off, goes to fix it and then hears:

"JACK...?"

Christian is sitting casually in a chair, still wearing the same suit and shoes.
This is the first time Christian speaks directly to Jack (i.e. face to face so to speak), and it's also his first off-island appearance. Why did that flippin' nurse have to interrupt?!?
Just what would Christian have said to Jack is she hadn't? Maybe he would have told Jack he had to come back?
Who knows.

The second time we see Christian in this episode is on the island in the present. Claire wakes up to find none other than her dad with a smile on his face, cradling Aaron by the camp fire. Wearing a new set of clothes, and looking a bit rough, Christian looks at Claire and smiles.

Just how did he manage to take Aaron from under Claire's arm without her waking up? Maybe he had quickly taken him seconds before which is what caused Claire to wake up. Why is he now wearing different clothes? Where did he get them from? And why did Claire leave Aaron alone in the middle of the jungle and follow her father whom she wanted nothing to do with a few years ago?

Season 4 Episode 11 - Cabin Fever

One of my top 3 favourite Christian scenes. Locke enters Jacob's cabin in hopes of finding out from him how to save the island. Instead of Jacob sitting at the table, it's Christian who greets Locke.

"Are you Jacob?"
"No. But I can speak on his behalf."

It's just been disproved: Christian ain't Jacob! Yet some people still think he is... I don't know why. Wearing the new set of clothes again (beige shirt, comfy pants and some sturdy hiking boots) he talks with Locke:

"Do you know why I'm here?"
"Yeah, sure. Do you?"

Gotta love that the guy has a sense of humor despite being dead!
Locke then hears a creak and sees Claire sitting happily on the rocking chair in the corner.

"I'm fine! I'm with him."

Cryptic much??? Christian then tells Locke to nevermind about Claire, but to worry about Keamy and co, and to ask the one question that does matter:

"How do I save the island?"

This is a little O.T, but if Jacob has been waiting for Locke "for a real long time" as per Horace's message to Locke, then why couldn't Jacob tell Locke how to move the island himself? It was implied that Jacob cares about Locke and greatly anticipated his visit, so why did Christian have to act as his representative?

Season 4 Episode 13 - There's No Place Like Home Part 2

Just before Christian appears on the Kahana, we hear the familiar sound of the whispers.
He suddenly appears behind the pile of C-4, and says:

"You can go now, Michael."

BOOM!!!

Bye bye Michael. Why would Christian appear to Michael? Seeing as Michael clearly didn't know who Christian was, perhaps it was just to convey to us that Christian is indeed acting as a guide of some sort?

Season 5 Episode 5 - This Place Is Death

My favourite Christian scene thus far! He appears to Locke, lantern in hand, seemingly having had waited there for Locke for a while.

"I'm here to help you the rest of the way."

Christian's choice of words next are indeed a bit odd:

"You came to see me in the cabin. You asked me how to save the island and I told you you had to move it. I said you had to move it, John."

Hang on... Locke came to see Jacob... and found Christian instead... isn't that what he means?
He then goes onto give Locke information about how to return to the island with his friends; contact Eloise Hawking.
When Locke doubts that he'll be able to convince all of them to come back, Christian offers him some comforting words which John rarely heard in his life-time:

"I believe in you John. You can do this."

FINALLY! Someone that doesn't tell Locke what he can't do. Go Christian!
Before Locke moves the wheel, something which humanizes Christian is when he smiles and says to Locke:

"Say hello to my son!"

Did Christian know that if Locke passed along this greeting from beyond the grave to Jack, that it would motivate him or even scare him around to the idea of coming back to the island?

Season 5 Episode 9 - Namaste

Our most recent encounter with Christian, and in my opinion, the creepiest so far.
Sun and Lapidus are on the island looking for Jin. Suddenly they hear some whispers (and had previously heard some smokey noises and seen some trees moving around). They see a light appear in one of the houses, similarly to Hurley's brief encounter with Christian. The door creaks open, and we see a silhouette...

"We're looking for my husband [...] do you know where he is?"
"Follow me."

Come on, would you follow a guy who just creepily emerged out of a dilapidated house???
He shows Sun and Frank the DHARMA recruits photo from 1977, and tells them:

"I'm sorry but you have a bit of a journey ahead of you."

It now seems that Christian is most definitely acting as an on-island guide of sorts for people who are in trying times. Why Christian though? Why not Jacob? There are so many questions about Christian's role on the island; how he died, and is now walking around and appearing on boats, and off the island without a bother. Has Smokey reanimated his body a-la Yemi? In my opinion, yes. We know that he's dead. He's appearing in places that are so far apart and in such a short space of time that we know he cannot be a regular human, or even a body that has been resurrected like Locke. However, there is definitely an element of pre-dead Christian there at times; when he reached out to Jack, and of course when he asked Locke to say hello to him.

So, who/what is Christian? I'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and comments on this.

Mythology Minute: The Statue

2009-04-18T19:29:00.007-05:00

Hi all!

First off, I would like to thank Ricardus Alpert for allowing me to be a contributor to his new blog. I am delighted to have this opportunity to share my thoughts, theories, and ideas with Lost fans, and also to hear your theories too!

So let's dive right in! This new segment is (somewhat cheesily but also aptly!) called Mythology Minute.

Any topic relating to the mythology on Lost will be discussed and debated, as clearly and concisely as possible... oh and I'll include pictures. ;)

Also, I want all of you to feel free to suggest a topic (relating to the Lost mythology) to be discussed, and of course to share your ideas, theories, and anything else you might have in mind.

So, without further ado, this week's Mythology Minute is on..... The Statue!

This aspect of the ever-growing Lost mythology has been one of the most popular as of late.
Why? Well perhaps it was our first encounter with a certain mysterious appendage way back when in Season 2 Episode 23 'Live Together, Die Alone' that first piqued our interest...

Coupled with Sayid’s reaction:

“I don't know what I find more disquieting: the fact that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it has four toes.”

Also, I’m certain that the fact that it didn’t make an appearance during seasons 3 and 4 afforded us a few years to theorize over this mysterious foot, to wonder who did it belong to and most importantly: would we ever see it again?

Our prayers were somewhat answered this season in episode 8 ‘LaFleur’ when lo and behold our long wait was paid off.... with a view of the statue’s backside...?!

This view provided us with just enough new information so that we could – put simply – go nuts and let loose those pent-up thoughts and ideas we had had since the end of season 2.

In both hands we can see ankhs which most of you will know by now is a hieroglyph which means “eternal life”. This popular symbol is often worn as a piece of jewellery (as modelled by Paul and robbed by Amy, much to Horace’s dismay) to express either the wearer’s belief or interest in Egyptian mythology, perhaps their hope for long life, or just maybe because it looks cool!

The presence of the ankhs alone - which are Egyptian symbols - in the statue’s hands gave us a clue as to who the statue might represent. The two most popular choices at the moment are...

Anubis, often referred to as Guardian of the Underworld:

And Taweret who is known as Goddess of Motherhood and/or Fertility:

Both are incredibly relevant to ongoing themes in Lost (the dead being seemingly re-animated or resurrected and the ongoing fertility problems on the island).

Personally I’m leaning towards Anubis, seeing as we’ve already seen him depicted in the Temple seemingly summoning Smokey, and because the rear of the statue, in my opinion, most closely resembles Anubis. (There’s no need for a bottom comparison so I won’t even bother!)

The latest mystery relating somewhat to the statue is our quote of the week:

“What lies in the shadow of the statue?”

Is this a code? Does something really lie in the shadow of the statue? If so, whatever it is probably doesn’t lie in a shadow seeing as it’s only a foot now..

But who built this statue? It's most likely some kind of Egyptian civilisation did, perhaps they were the orignal inhabitants of the island? But then that raises more questions such as:

How was it built? It's pretty huge, but then again so were the pyraminds...

Why was it built? For worshipping purposes? To guard something? If I remember the film 'The Mummy' correctly, wasn't Imhotep buried under a statue of Anubis? If we apply this thinking to Lost, then what in the name of Jacob could be buried under or near the four-toed statue?! Is it a who and not a what that lies in the shadow of the statue? Just an interesting thought...

Either way, something’s up with this statue, Ilana, Bram, and several others seem to know about it, I think it’s about time we all did too!

(Writing this topic has motivated me to go and dig out a book which I received for my 14^th birthday (when I was going through my Egyptian fascination phase): ‘How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphics”. I should at some point (after my exams this May) have the time to learn to read it and hopefully be able to translate some of the hieroglyphics we’ve seen on Lost.)

Well it’s almost 3am so I think my minute is well and truly up!

I really hope you enjoyed this Mythology Minute, I hope that I haven't overlooked anything major, and please do leave comments and your own theories below as I’d really like to hear them.

Hostile Highlight: Ethan Rom

2009-04-17T19:08:00.015-05:00

For our second segment of Hostile Highlight, I figured we ought to take a look at the first Hostile/Other (Should we call them Ho's?) that we ever saw on Lost. Ethan is such a curious character in that he has appeared in more episodes after his death than before it. We will be examining the character in chronological order, so we will ironically be starting in Season 5 and ending in Season 1.

Ethan was born in 1977 to Amy, the wife of Horace Goodspeed. He was one of only three children that we know were born on the Island (the other two being Aaron and Alex). His birth was by C-section and was administered by Juliet, who was involved in saving Amy's live just three years earlier. Ethan was held caringly by Juliet when he was a baby. Juliet had no clue who he would grow up to be until Amy revealed what they had chosen to name him: Ethan. How does he become Ethan.

Sometime before he turns twelve, Ethan joins Ben in becoming Hostiles who apparently still live with Dharma. How they accomplish this is unknown, as it seems very difficult to manage these two lives. We next see Ethan when he is twelve years old and on a mission with Benjamin Linus. They are dressed in traditional Hostile clothing and their mission is to kill Danielle Rousseau. Ethan seems especially bloodthirsty for a twelve year old, offering to do this all by himself.

How did Ethan become a Hostile? We really do not know. It is very curious that he switched ships from Dharma to these Island natives at such a young age. Later on in life, Ethan was seen off-Island with Richard Alpert in the recruiting of Juliet Burke. He next shows up being ordered by Ben to infiltrate the mid-section survivors of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815. He joins the group before being exposed by Hurley. The rest is history, and we all remember how he kidnapped Charlie and Claire before losing them both. He was then shot and killed by Charlie in cold blood.

Ethan, our first Hostile ever seen, remained a mystery for such a long time. We had literally no clue where he came from or how he was on the Island. Was he working alone or was he part of a larger group, the "Others?" Well, four seasons later, we know a lot more about the once-mysterious Ethan Rom. Thanks for reading Hostile Highlight, and stay tuned for the next segment, following none other than Benjamin Linus, the man responsible for destroying the Dharma Initiative.

Hostile Highlight: Charles Widmore

2009-04-17T09:27:00.016-05:00

In this new segment called "Hostile Highlight," we will examine one current or former Hostile/Other and their story. In this edition, we will take a look at Charles Widmore, given the information we now know about his entire life. Mainly, this will center on his early life as a Hostile and eventually their leader.

Literally nothing is known about Charles Widmore's early years so far. How he came to be on the Island is something we can only guess at. We do know, however, that he was born in 1937. This is due to the fact that he was 17 when he met a time-traveling John Locke in 1954.

And now we jump to that meeting, our first encounter with a Widmore who wasn't white-haired. It was also the first time we saw him on the Island, which was a huge reveal that made me love the whole episode, Jughead. But first, Widmore participated in the flaming arrow attack on the beach camp of the Losties.

He then also captures Juliet and Sawyer along with two of his buddies, urging them to cut off Juliet's hand just to prove that they are for real. Widmore, wearing an army suit of a man named Jones, appears to be somewhat leading this small group. Apparently, he was a leader all along, just not of the Hostiles...yet. I'm fairly certain he always had aspirations of becoming their leader.

We then see him, after killing his friend in order to save his other friends, back at his camp. He doesn't think that Locke could have tracked him, which is completely wrong. Don't underestimate John Locke, ever. After Locke arrives, young Charles has a confrontation with Richard. After Locke mentions Jacob, Richard seems to be a lot more willing to hear what he has to say. Widmore, however, puts a gun to Locke's head and intends to shoot him.

Richard tells him to put the gun down, and after he refuses, Richard forcefully throws it from Locke's head, calling him by his name. This mysterious bald man seems to recognize him and knows his first name, something that doesn't concern Charles very much...for the moment. Little does he know, he will go on to spend decades researching this John Locke and following his life.

We do not see anything of Widmore's life until 5.12, "Dead is Dead," when he is apparently the leader of the Others in 1977. He is once again in conflict with the immortal Vice-President due to the fact that Richard brought a young Dharma boy, Benjamin Linus, to the Temple. Richard says that it was Jacob's will and that Charles should know that the Island chooses whoever it wants, which calms him down quite a bit.

Charles then meets Benjamin Linus and tells him that although he will still be with his father in Dharma, that doesn't mean he still cannot be one of them. Apparently, Ben is more of a Hostile during the time before the Purge than we though, because he makes regular trips with them in their clothing on missions. He was ordered by Charles to find and kill Danielle, but this got complicated when she had a child. Widmore is displeased when he finds out that Ben spared them both and took the child, saying he should have killed them both, calling the baby "it."

Ben disagrees and says that it is a child, and that if the Island really wants it dead, Widmore can be the one to kill it. Widmore does nothing but walk away from the group, where Richard gives Ben and encouraging glance. This all seems to begin Ben's rise to prominence in the Hostiles' society. Ben becomes more of a leader while Widmore is on the outs for years. It is not until at least 1992, however, when Widmore is finally exiled.

Ben comes to "gloat," and tells Widmore that he is being exiled because he frequently left the Island and had a child with an outsider - he broke the rules. Widmore leaves grudgingly, telling Ben that one day, he will be exiled too. Widmore is led to the sub by two armed guards in handcuffs. Somehow, Widmore begins to build a massive fortune during this time, all while using it to search for the Island.

We will not cover Widmore's interactions with Desmond here, mainly because much of them have little to do with him other than the fact that he is one giant ass, especially towards Desmond. After sponsoring a race around the world, Widmore goes on to hire a freighter team to go find the Island. Their mission is basically to find Benjamin Linus and get him out alive. This is unsuccessful, but perhaps Widmore succeeds after all because he did get Ben off the Island. The mercenaries ultimately forced Ben to turn the Frozen Donkey Wheel and exile himself from the Island.

Thus, Widmore apparently isn't meant to make it back to the Island. At least, not yet. While he spent over fifteen years searching for the Island, Ben spent a year or two and got back immediately. What happened between Widmore and Eloise Hawking that he cannot seek her help like Ben can? We do not know, but apparently Charles either hasn't sought her help, or he has and was denied. The last we ever see Widmore, Ben has just called and informed him that he is about to murder Penny, Charles's daughter. Widmore says that Ben "wouldn't dare," but Ben hangs up, leaving him terrified over his daughter's fate.

5.13 - Some Like it Hoth - What We Know About Miles

2009-04-17T01:07:00.019-05:00

And here it is, our first post at The Hostile Blog! Episode thirteen, "Some Like it Hoth," was the 99th episode overall of Lost, a huge accomplishment for the series. It also marked the first flashback for Miles, the guy who apparently can talk to dead people, which makes him extremely special. In this post, we will take a look at the sarcastic and greedy guy we all know and love.

But how special does it really make him? Hurley, Sun, Frank, Jack, Eko, Ben and countless others have talked to people who were previously dead (mainly Christian). But, as we see from Miles and Hurley in their hilarious interactions, Miles does not have regular conversations with the dead like Hurley and others. He can actually communicate with the dead and gets feelings of what happened to them to cause them to die. This is something we have never seen on Lost up to this point, so yes, this seems to make Miles extremely special.

We also learn from this episode that Miles is the son of Pierre Chang (a.k.a. Marvin Candle, a.k.a. Edgar Halliwax, a.k.a. Mark Wickmand), the mysterious man from the old Dharma Orientation videos throughout the last four seasons.

So, it appears Miles was likely born on the Island. Is this the source of his odd power? That's likely, as the body he found in the apartment was likely the first corpse he ever saw in his life. I am willing to bet that if he had ever seen one before that, even on the Island, he would have known about his abilities much sooner.

I guess we know why Miles was so hostile (heh) towards the Losties when he first landed on the Island. He was told, after all, by Naomi that his mission was to connect with certain dead bodies in order to help her catch a dangerous serial killer who lived on this mysterious Island. I'd be a bit jumpy, too.

We also got a larger glimpse into what Miles is truly after: money. He really likes it, as is evident from his agreement to join the dangerous frighter mission at the mention of $1.6 million. After hearing this number, I realized the explanation for the $3.2 million he asked for from Ben in exchange for his loyalty - he wanted double his payment.

But, we also get that fed to us even clearer when Miles is kidnapped by Bram and co. Bram asks him what lies in the shadow of the statue. That's the question we're all asking, isn't it? Is it the Orchid? Jughead? Adam and Eve? Nobody's sure just yet, and Miles sure isn't. They tell him that he isn't ready to go to the Island yet due to this, and that he should not work for Charles Widmore. Miles, only caring for the money, demands double his fee from Widmore - $3.2 million dollars - in order to not go on the freighter trip. Unfortunately, Bram and whoever he works for are apparently not willing to fork over a few million dollars, so they are forced to throw him straight on his back onto the hard concrete.

But is money all that Miles truly wants? Hurley points out to him (about nine times) what a great deal the Island has given him. Miles, who never knew his father as a boy, now has a chance to interact with him and even be his colleague in 1977 Dharma. A boy's dream, right? Miles, however, is bitter towards the father who was never in his life, and vows to not speak to him at all. As Miles contemplates his abandonment by his father, he sees a baby version of himself (that sounds fun) being nurtured and played with by his enthusiastic and loving father. Miles then warms up to Chang as he sees that he really did care. Thus, one more cowboy has daddy issues, along with a dead mother. Miles comes to see that maybe his father wasn't so bad after all, and gets what he truly wanted - the knowledge that his father truly cared.