The End of the Beginning
Sorry, looong post. Hang in there with me!
In a previous post in the Fun section, I mentioned the balance of tension on the show regarding characters and concepts. That is the beginning of this theory, so here are some examples I’ve noted:
Ben’s presumption of power and assertion of power due to greed, juxtaposed with Locke’s natural rise to power because of determination and/or predestination and faith, and assertion of power for the good and protection of the island
Ben’s spinal tumor, & being shot vs. Locke’s miraculous healings/resurrection
Widmore’s efforts to get on the island to no avail for the past ~20 years and becoming an old man in the process vs. Desmond’s fate to be on the island ‘ he gets there so far on two separate occasions, and I believe he’ll be back again, yet he never wanted to be on that island in the first place. Ben, Richard, and Mr. Friendly also come and go on the island without trouble.
Widmore’s taking of life with, it seems, little to no thought vs. Ben’s ‘weakness’ of preserving a child’s life (because of the mother, not wanting the child to be motherless like he was, etc.)
Jack’s determination that science and coincidence explain everything (science) vs. Locke’s determination that they are supposed to be in certain places and do certain things. (faith or religion)
Jack’s ability to lead and make friends ‘ people want him to be in charge vs. Sawyer’s ability to mess things up and make enemies (switched this season, although the men still question his abilities, and the ladies are questioning Jack’s lack of action.)
Previous seasons: Kate’s pining for Jack but being with Sawyer, Juliet’s attraction to Jack, no one really loves Sawyer (this could be debated in Kate’s case, but she always goes back to Jack)
This Season: Kate pines for Sawyer, but could be with Jack. Juliet is in love with Sawyer, and no one really wants to be with Jack. Now he’s the loser just going along with whatever happens.
Elements of faith presented in the Others by believing in Jacob, good of the island, etc. vs. the DI’s scientific nature, experimenting with time travel, animal surgeries, observation, harnessing electromagnetic power, etc.
Egyptian/Tao/Buddhist/Christian/Greek/Sanskrit religious and mythological themes vs. the scientific aspects ‘ Kerr Metric equation / MECOs, Valenzetti equation, electromagnetic energies, astrophysics, etc.
We can also very easily find both good and bad ‘ humanity ‘ in nearly every character, so that it is hard to find out just who is bad and who is good. Examples:
Ben ‘ we know he has some claim to the island, maybe because Kate and Sawyer rescued him, and so has immense authority. Yet he behaves very often as a child ‘ keeping Alex like a pet, throwing a tantrum when Juliet likes Goodwin, and murdering Locke out of apparent hatred you can see in the veins popping out of his head. He repeatedly lies and kills for his own purposes, not just the island’s (e.g. Goodwin) without conscience. Yet this season we seem to see a softer side of Ben, telling the truth more often, maybe, and a ‘weakness’ in allowing life (Alex, Penny). He has been a man of his word, technically, considering Michael/Walt and Juliet’s sister. Ben goes to and from the island with no hassle, it seems, and yet this is part of the reason Widmore was banned. We also know Ben has many resources and connections off-island, and is seemingly very important there as well as the island.
Widmore: was always rebellious, even during his days with Richard in 1954. He obviously has an authority role in 1977 when Ben is shot. Yet he falls prey to weakness in fathering a child off-island and is banished in 1992-ish. He’s always nasty to Desmond ‘ especially in the beginning. We see him beating someone (we assume is Ben’s man, but don’t really know!). He is very knowledgeable about the Losties and the island, and obviously has a lot of connections and resources.
There are other characters who obviously struggle with the good/evil battle – e.g. any Losties’ name can go here. Certain characters haven’t been explained, and yet have some knowledge and authority associated with what is ‘supposed’ to happen. I call them ‘Time Cops’:
Eloise: has been around in every time period we’ve seen so far, I think. She’s been described as someone who ensures people do what they’re supposed to do, and also knows about the universe’s abilities to ‘course-correct.’ She is Faraday’s mother, and helps Ben get back on the island.
Abbadon ‘ has also been described as someone who encourages people to do what they’re supposed to do. In cast-call script, he was described as ‘a ruthless corporate recruiter, tall and thin, with a chilling presence.’ His name suggests such things as ‘anti-Christ,’ ‘destroyer,’ and ‘dark angel.’ Perhaps he is the opposing force for Eloise.
Richard could also fall in this category, as he has ‘always been here’ as Juliet says, and he never ages. He also intervenes off-island in Locke’s life, gets Juliet to the island, etc.
Moving on, there are certain points of time where the balance has shifted, such as the following (not a conclusive list, by any means, but the main events):
DI Purge: ‘Ben assumed a leadership role with the Others and established communication with Jacob. The Others were formed from a combination of the Hostiles, former DHARMA Initiative staff who, like Ben, had turned on the organization, and new people recruited from the outside world (lostpedia).’
This seems to mark a deviation from the original ancient traditions. Instead of being against the DI, the Others initiate and continue some of their practices, such as medical experimentation with pregnant women, brainwashing (i.e. Karl), etc.
The Incident: We do not know much about this, other than something happens at the Swan station to merit entering the numbers. Remember these numbers have been heard/broadcast for years, at least since 1955, that we know of from Tom Swoomey (I think it was?).
Flight 815 crash: The beginning of the end for the Losties. Desmond forgets to enter the numbers as he is killing Inman on the shore, after following him. He is able to reset the computer, but the leak is enough to pull down Oceanic 815 (lostpedia). This also signifies a force of opposition for the Others.
Purple sky: Locke refusing to push the buttons. He lost faith, and now the Swan is destroyed, no one enters any more numbers – 4 8 15 16 23 42.
Freighter ‘ Kahana ‘ This signifies another force of opposition by way of Widmore, attempting, according to Keamy and Ben, to capture Ben and kill everyone else on the island. Remember Captain Gault? He didn’t agree with Keamy, and he seemed to know the wishes of Widmore a bit better as well. I wonder if it was Widmore’s intention, really, to kill all inhabitants of the island? Maybe we are being led to believe something that isn’t true; after all, do we ever hear from Widmore that he wanted those people to die?
Flight 316: Enter ANOTHER force of opposition, by way of an unknown. Let’s not forget that Juliet knew the Others were building a runway on the Hydra, where Kate and Sawyer were laboring, although she claimed not to know why. Obviously Ben knew there was another plane coming.
After all this, what I’m getting at is this: I believe these events in time, (there are probably more than the events I’ve listed here; we may not even know of some, yet to be revealed) shift the balance of power, as to be a means to the end of equilibrium in opposing forces. By the finale of Lost, we will see a restoration of all things before a certain point in time – my guess so far being the Purple Sky incident. As Ellie said, the universe has a way of course correcting, and in the end, the writers will find a way to restore the juxtaposed power of good and evil, science and faith, and all the forces of opposition regarding the island.
mojo, Top marks for a theory which is well thought out, and extremely well presented!
You placed a lot of thought into showing the balancing act the characters have been undergoing, in addition to some obvious character role reversals.
I think you did an absolutely brilliant job at explaining the presumption of power and assertion of power with Ben!
You also gave some really insightful commentary into the elements of determination and/or predestination/faith.
You balanced these nicely with the scientific aspects of the show, in addition to the characters struggles with trying to keep themselves balanced.
I think you make a very astute observation with Widmore. We do not know what his specific instructions were to Keamy, and/or if Keamy (like Miles) received a higher offer from someone else, to carry out killing everyone on ‘the island’.
I think we should be entertaining these thoughts, and not be so inclined to accept what is necessarily presented to us, as truth about one character or the other.
There is a third element operating, that may account for some of our thoughts, and decisions up to present about who is good and who isn’t. I think we may have been thrown off track by this.
The ‘bar’ has been raised, and I expect we will see many surprises along the way that will shake that belief system.
We have been led to believe that things are a certain way, but now, we can’t be so sure. The lines are being drawn, and fairly soon, we will see what it is they are battling over.
I will definitely get back to your theory for further discussion and comment.
Curious to hear your thoughts, Dabs! And always, you are so kind. 🙂
mojo, what I find very interesting about your thoughts is, that they are reminiscent of ying and yang.
Your analysis of the characters and situations they have found themselves in, past and present, accompanied with some obvious role reversals of some of the characters, are an accurate depiction of this.
The cosmology centres on the ideas of the dynamic balance of opposites, the evolution of events as a process, and acceptance of the inevitability of change.
I did a little research on Wikipedia, and found the following information.
As for the symbolism, each hexagram represents a description of a state or process. When a hexagram is cast using one of the traditional processes of divination with I Ching, each of the yin or yang lines will be indicated as either moving (that is, changing), or fixed (that is, unchanging).
Moving, (also sometimes called old, or unstable) lines will change to their opposites, that is ‘young’ lines of the other type…. old yang becoming young yin, and old yin becoming young yang.
I think this accurately depicts, as well as compliments the balancing of forces, and opposition from opposing forces.
Restoring the balance is required, and I believe this is where a 3rd party will initiate this process. It definitely gives you the sense that not only that ‘higher powers’ are at work here, but the Universe itself is requiring, that ‘the balance’ be restored!
Dabs – yes!! This is a recurring theme I find everywhere, and yin and yang are prime examples. Thank you for your explanation. It fits with the Dharma symbol and outfits on the security guys escorting Widmore too.
So now my question is … who or what is controlling the balance? The universe? Is it the Losties themselves? Each person has their free agency, so are they being benipulated, er, manipulated? This is where the fate/change argument comes in, I guess.
mojo, I knew you would understand what I was getting at. Your theory accurately depicts the situation, so you deserve all of the credit for sparking my thoughts.
I was definitely making the correlation between the Dharma symbol and the symbols on the Uniforms!
I think we definitely have to back to the Valenzetti equation, for some clarity. The notion was to change any of the core values, to constitute major change.
This takes into consideration every single character on the show, and everything we have seen.
It has always seemed as though somebody, (aside of Ben), is pulling the strings, or orchestrating what is happening.
I think we do have to look at the balancing act, of the Universe and all of the aspects of science vs faith, as I believe both apply.
I am of the opinion, that one cannot exist without the other. They co-dependent on each other to achieve the proper balance.
kind of like polar opposites on a magnet … 🙂
SO – my thinking is along the lines of the purple sky incident being the fulcrum in the balancing act. This event changed the numbers in the equation, as no one enters them anymore and they are now defunct (or at least inactive). We now have a new equation (the numbers reversed), or no numbers at all.
Everything/everyone seems to be moving toward the opposite of what they were, so to speak, since that event.
mojo, thanks for pointing this out! I think that it makes perfect sense, given your theory.
Perhaps, this was the beginning of the change. Everyone seems to have changed, from their first arrival to ‘the island.
Initially,the changes could be explained by redemption, but now something else is at play. Kate is almost unrecognizable since her return to ‘the island’, and as much as Jack says he is just waiting for some kind of message to tell him what he should be doing, he willingly gives up information to Roger, of all people.
Formerly, Jack would not tell anyone, anything! He was a one-man island, the leader, who kept his cards close to his vest.
The characters have taken a departure from their former selves. Some are welcome changes, as in Sawyer, while others aren’t, IMO.
Yes, not so happy about Jack’s loser-ness. I did think it was cute how he defended Kate. As much as they are both annoyingly stupid, their little love saga is endearing. I also noticed that Juliet does seem a lot more trusting and less mysterious this episode. The only person that hasn’t really changed is Hurley … but maybe that’s because he has always been a balanced person.
I still wonder how the meaning of his tattoo will play out. What is Jack’s role? We really don’t know, at this point, and neither does he. Sawyer seems to have it figured out.