Lost: The Rewatch Thread - Page 39

That is true, unless the fact that the Swan was always outside the area of the truce meant that whoever pushed the button had to stay underground for extended periods of time, even before the purge wiped out everyone else with the poison gas.

But it was also shown that all the reports from the observation station were being dumped out into a big field in the middle of nowhere.

I tried to make that point, that the Dharma wasn't reading them. This fact says nothing about if the Swan is a Skinner experiment or not. It just support they don't care about the fellas observing them.

Well, what's the point of the skinner experiment if no one is actually reading the reports? Defeats the point of the experiment.

I posted this in the Season 6 thread, but thought it was worth mentioning here, as well. Jack's cut/scrape/blood mirrors the bullet graze Daniel sustains during the Dharmaville shootout in "The Variable". Now, what that means? Who knows? Maybe Faraday and Jack are somehow bonded or linked. I suggested that AlternaJack may be receiving some ghostly visits from Faraday.

You know I think the losties traveling back to 2007 wasn't caused by the bomb, but by Jacob. First of all the bomb should've killed them, but Jacob says to MIB, "They're coming." And then a white flash engulfs the losties, the white flash we've seen many times when the Losties were time traveling. It would atleast explain why they are still alive.

This really has nothing to do with season six and is a bit of a rant, so feel free to skip it.

In regards to the "making it up as they go along" complaint, I finally realized why exactly that was a criticism. It wasn't so much that they were making up the story as they went along (though seeing how things are tying together shows that they haven't been, and even so, as Jesse says, EVERY FUCKING SHOW "makes it up" as they go along, there's no crime there), its that they were clearly making up the back story as they went along.

Looking back at each and every character's back story, with a few exceptions (Ben being the obvious one, Hurley and his numbers might be another), I...really don't see the need to shroud it in so much mystery, so much so that even the ACTORS themselves had no idea about certain aspects of their character. Why couldn't they just sit Evangeline Lily down and say "Look, your character blew up her step-father, who was really her father, and has been on the run ever since" or "Look Terry, your father pushed you out a window and that's why you're paralyzed." I mean, did they really need to keep THESE things a secret? I understand not revealing who or what the smoke monster is or what the deal with the Others is, but when it comes to "Jack, you can NEVER ask me what happened to Aaron....because I gave him to Claire's mother." I don't see why there had to be so much mystery surrounding the back story.

Apologies for the rant, and I know I'm going to be blasted apart over it, I still love the show and the back stories themselves for the most part, I was just addressing the complaint of "making it up as they go along" and why its valid in regards to the BACK STORY, not the STORY.

Syd, HOW DARE YOU?!?!

Seriously, that's a valid complaint. Stuff like the "you can never ask me about Aaron again!" moment are completely stupid in hindsight. There are several moments and reactions throughout the show that are more about goosing up the drama and suspense than anything else. This tactic often works, but when it doesn't, it's glaring.

I was speculating about an old post that talked about Vaughan input, and I assumed not long ago that the back stories is were the temporal writers have space to work along. The list is impressive http://bit.ly/afdLXI

Yeah, I thought I'd bring it up now since we're in the final season, and looking back, certain things, in regard to the back story, don't make sense, at least from "Character is acting like their back story is way more epic and terrifying then it actually is."

Like ten other people have suggested this in the last week, but it requires overturning the established nature of the time jumps in order to answer a question that already has one. We've been told that the jumps were occurring randomly, because the wheel was off its axis. Then we're shown the wheel, off its axis, and the jumps stopping when it's fixed. There's nothing to suggest that Jacob or Smokey is directing the jumps*. Is it possible that this will eventually be revealed? I suppose, given the show's propensity for massive misdirections (the "advanced" nature of the Others, the purpose of the button and "Jacob's" cabin were all pretty extreme turnarounds from the information originally presented), but it doesn't need to be to explain why they survived. The idea was that the bomb would "negate" the energy Radzinsky released, so it's conceivable that a successful detonation would not necessarily entail a nuclear blast. It's wonky to the point it hardly qualifies as psuedoscience, but it's internally consistent.

*Except perhaps the mention that Jacob is vaguely responsible for bringing groups of people to the island. And that suggests manipulation of a generally murky sort, not anything to do with time travel. The jumps seem to be a rather unique phenomenon, judging by Richard/the Others' befuddlement.

Ah sorry if other people had said the same thing. I missed some posts, just far too busy to read everything.

You may be right, I was just speculating. But If Jacob was responsible for the last time jump, it doesn't mean the donkeywheel wanst responsible for all the time jumping proceeding it. I agree the donkeywheel was indeed responsible for those jumps. I viewed the last time jump independent of those ones. It just seems like the bomb shuould've killed them. And why does Jacob say, "They're coming"? I admit, my theory is pretty thin.

It's obvious that the donkeywheel started the jumping. I just personally think that Jacob started to control the where/when of the jumps. So far the theory is pretty thin because I'm basing on it Jacob telling Hurley that Jin would know where to take Sayid. I'm hoping for some more of those instances to show us that the jumps will be used like that again.

While not necessarily less believable than "the reaction of a nuclear blast and a pocket of electromagnetic energy sent them forward in time", it just feels so much more complicated. Jacob's words indicate that he knows they will be back, but that doesn't mean he's directly magicking them there. At this point, does it seem like anything has happened in the show he hasn't known about beforehand?

Apologies for the lateness. Had some technical issues to battle with.

Here's three pages of goodness

Dr. Linus (S6 Ep 7)

http://chud.com/articles/articles/22...E-7/Page2.html

Eileen, I'm having trouble getting to the third page. It doesn't seem to be linked from the second. Thanks!

OK, it looks like page 1 is actually page 3. Took me a sec to figure it out.

Interesting. When I clicked on the link Eileen provided, I was directed to the 3rd page. I was confused for a second. Hope it gets sorted out. Thanks again Eileen.

And more appreciation to Jesse. I don't get into the show anywhere close to the degree you guys do in this thread, but your column makes me feel like I'm in the know.

I've been trying to figure out what is going on. In the preview part on the backend everything is fine. This is the first time I've encountered this problem and it could be tied into other issues the staff has been having the last couple of days.

Sorry gang.

The link to page 1 took me to the last page.

http://chud.com/articles/articles/22...E-7/Page1.html

What happened to the one posted earlier today - it's not linked from the main page or even the NEWS page that I can see and the search function isn't really helping out.

Its one of the cells at the top on the main page.

My bad, its been taken off the cell block. Click on Editorial, then THUD and there is where you'll find all the Lost columns.

ok i have read a couple pages so forgive me if this rehashes or neglects some previously covered fact (not to mention my likely false memories of the shows history) .... i have a couple new theories on the fail safe, swan station, skinner box etc people seem to be debating ... totally unfounded and just conceived but hear me out ...

for DI it was never a skinner box, they used it and thoughtfully observed the people in there because they knew it was important... thats if there wasnt a downright normal rotation schedule, despite the odd short interval of presses... because once upon a time the swan station was fully operational, right? ... before ben et all killed the DI, but after the station was built (all in the timeline where shit didnt go blooey)?

Well during that time, they needed to contain this energy they inadvertently released ... but they are dealing with unknown natural forces, in quantities no one has ever before ... the pushing of the button, and its necessity were all an immediate solution to this accident, at least as immediate as possible ... so upon setting the station up and discovering this fluctuating energy they devise the temporary solution of the button press ... and heres where my theory really starts:

desmond didnt need to push the button, jacob wanted him to...the magnetic force however bad, would have passed and gone still .... afterall the machine wasnt set up originally, the fluctuations had to go un-neutralized at one point, right? and the world didnt implode then? ... I mean the station was built, so it's fluctuated in oen way or another, whether its how frequently it happens, or the strength itself ... othewise the station couldnt have been finished or occupied, right?

And the numbers do make a difference, its not random or some psychological experiment, at least it wasnt initially ... the numbers control the response the machine gives to neutralize the energy or whatever it does ... the energy has changed or worsened, so it would make sense they noticed and ended up devising or modifying a system that could adapt to its worsening... (and the failsafe could be part of that, a therotical last option/final solution should it get so much worse that no settings on the other can contain it) ... however it doesn't worsen past a point, plateaus, and therefore becomes a system where the same buttons get pressed over and over again... partly because before it can be modified the island is taken over by the others ...

Once they have their people in charge of the station, there are many different scenarios that could create the observation and or swan skinner box we now know.... whether its jacob interceding and telling them to do something, or rather not do something (e.g. desertion of the station and krazinsky), blind trust in unstable and suicidal krazinsky, 30 years of cabin fever, the actual fever or sickness ... point is, with jacob's apparent omniscience of events, the other's apparent predilection for mind games, and their people observing and manning the station, in 30 years it could have easily (and intentionally) eroded into the situation desmond and the castaways stumbled upon... And it was, by jacob, and all for the reason that the failsafe would finally be activated and he could get whatever net result he wanted.

And yeah I guess jacob could have just said go turn the key, but he could also just say the smokes the bad guy, im a god, here's what we need to do, etc... plus it seems like its all part of a plan that had to take place in time, with our heroes getting there.... in other words, he needed 30 years.

But the key points, it was jacob, and the majority of the swan's machines and systems were legitimate, and there's a real plausible solution that will be revealed as to how and why it all got where desmond turned the key.... I mean this is something they conceived after season one, and focused HEAVILY upon for all of season two... I have to believe they have a logical, even if magical or jacob-derived, explanation for it all.

P.S. if the interval between energy being released was fluctuating, it could be the others who added the timer ... its not so tech-releated, and it has those egyptian symbols... so perhaps it was even still in fluctuation when the DI got taken over, and the final timer was added when it eventually plateaued.

Am rewatching season 2...can someone explain to me why Rose had her cancer cured by Jacob if she's not a candidate or in any way involved in the main plot? Neither MiB or Jacob seem interested in her so why heal her?

Jacob didn't heal her. The Island has healing abilties, probably related to electromagnetism.

Then why didn't the island heal Sawyer when he was infected by the virus in season 2? Why didnt it heal Jack with his appendice? Why didn't it heal Ben with his cancer? Why didnt it heal women who lost their babies? Why didnt it heal ben when he got shot as a kid (richard had to take him to the pool), why didnt it heal Sayid when he got shot? Why didnt it heal Shannon? WHy didnt it heal Boone?

Yet it heals John every time.

Just to keep it from getting lost (hur hur) in the main thread, I wanted to note here that you did a terrific job scrutinizing and contemplating LOST from humble beginnings to big-time finale, Monsieur Morse!

Any thoughts on picking a show for a potential encore? The Wire, Deadwood, and The Shield are all deserving of greater awareness and analysis. Fringe would be a natural choice, and while it doesn't appear to strive to address nearly as many philosophical questions as Lost, it has stepped up its game to being a really good show in its own right.

Selfishly, I'd just like to see more discussion of the TV format as a whole, as I love its ability to delve into characters and ideas in great depth and detail.

My vote is Carnivale, just so I can rewatch it again and discuss with people who didn't give it a pass previously.

I vote for Fringe too. (I have to get The Wire, dammed!)
I read the Carnivale thread after it aired here and Jesse did a great job contributing there.

You've just made me imagine the possibilities of an epic backstory about how Roberts built up that immunity to iocane.

Before, I just assumed something boring like him taking a harmless dose of it every other day or something.

EDIT: Just finished reading. OUTSTANDING.