Thomas aka Jack Bender time paradox

With all the discussions of time paradox I thought I would remind people of the pressures of producing an episodic television program with a consisyent level of quality. A clear example of this can be seen in the episodes ‘Raised By Another’ and ‘Flashes Before Your Eyes’.

Claire’s boyfriend Thomas is an artist (whose paintings in real life were authored by producer Jack Bender). In “Raised By Another” we see him in his studio apartment with several of his paintings in background. One of these paintings can be seen hanging in Charles Widmore’s office in the episode “Flashes Before Your Eyes”. (see Lostpedia for visuals).

The only problem is that Thomas’ studio in Australia is seen in 2003 whereas Wismore’s office is seen in 1996, seven years earlier! There can be a number of rationalisations to explain how this odd set of facts came to be.

If Thomas is 25 years old and he sold (or loaned) that painting when he was 17, he may have retrieved it by the time of the ‘Raised By Another’ episode. Widmore industries may have a company whose only job is to get paintings or prints on consignment to decorate corporate offices, in which case the painting was never actually sold, merely borrowed by Widmore industries.

Or Perhaps this one painting was not done by Thomas, but by someone else. Perhaps it was painted by a scenic artist named Desmond Hume. This would raise the question of why Desmond does not react when he sees the painting on Widmore’s wall.

Another funky explaination would be that Thomas and Desmond are brothers with the same interest and talent in painting. One lives in England and became a scenic artist while the younger brother became a painter in Australia.

Most likely, the set department re-used a painting they had lying around in a warehouse and paid Jack Bender royalties (the double dipping cheat!) rather than commission another artist to create something new for Widmore’s office.