OMG! I don’t believe it! Pierre Chang is Miles’ father!
So the world’s least surprising father-son revelation was sprung open at last. Eagle-eyed fans would have remembered Lara from the opening of Season 5 and so spotted the ruse early when they saw this same woman looking to get a new place for herself and her son.
Lost does like to indulge in such familial relations business (Jack / Christian / Claire and Faraday / Eloise / Widmore immediately spring to mind). And this episode also presented some ‘daddy issues’ (all the best cowboys have them, you know), another firm Lost favourite. If you got the impression you’d been here before then I don’t blame you. On Lost whatever happened, happens!
Well, maybe. This episode probed the idea of defying ‘whatever happened, happened’ – and the one man perhaps most able to bend, or even break, his own rule just came back to the Island.
Hurley’s ideas about re-writing Star Wars were one such courting of this principle. For the uninitiated, the ‘Hoth’ in the episode title is the name of the ice planet that The Empire Strikes Back begins on. The Empire Strikes Back was the script Hurley was writing, and amending, with the intention of submitting it to George Lucas to try and right some wrongs. Namely:
In Hurley’s script, Luke would not have turned from Vader when he learned he was his father and, instead, would have accepted his offer to rule the galaxy as father and son and rid the universe of the evil Emperor. Interestingly for Lost, Luke not taking this path resulted in him having his arm chopped off.
Anyone else missing an arm spring to mind on Lost?
I am reasonably sure that Pierre Chang will lose his arm in the event known only as ‘the incident’. Perhaps it was the realisation that disaster was on the horizon that prompted Pierre Chang to quickly ship his wife and baby Miles off the Island and out of his life with little explanation. It’s not entirely unreasonable to wonder if grown-up Miles, bonding with his apparently-doting father, is the one that warns him about ‘the purge’. Another cyclical time loop. And Pierre Chang claims to be unaware of circles!
Alternatively, the very nature of ‘the incident’ may be to do with Pierre Chang attempting to change history. To stop ‘whatever happened, happened’. This is totally unchartered territory but, as stated, Faraday is back on the Island looking like a man with a plan having spent an unknown period of time with the Dharma Initiative off-Island, at Ann Arbor; maybe he has designs on preventing Charlotte’s death.
What I think is most likely is that Miles will tell Pierre Chang about who he is, and when he is from, and this will cause Chang to have a panic (similar to his concern when two rabbits were in the same timeframe during The Orchid Orientation film).
Maybe ‘the incident’ was created by Chang and Faraday attempting to get Miles and the rest of the Oceanic mob back to where they belong. I do believe ‘the incident’ is going to play a large part in the Season 5 finale so this seems an altogether viable resolution to this 70s Dharma phase. ‘The incident’ jolts the Oceanic and Freighter groups (and Juliet) off to 2007 to rendezvous with Locke and Ben and Ajira and co.
That paves the way for Season 6, the last season, to focus on this upcoming ‘war’ that we received more tantalising information about, mainly from Bram in the van. . .
. . . who we already saw was part of the Ajira survivor group in Dead Is Dead.
Bram’s attempts to get Miles to not work for Widmore pretty much confirm that the Ajira group were not sent by Charles. As I have previously asserted, my favourite candidate for their chief is Eloise Hawking. What lies in the shadow of the statue? Potentially it’s Jughead. The nuclear bomb. If there’s a war coming then a weapon of mass destruction isn’t a bad thing to have. Possibly what was in the crate Ilana and co were taking to the main Island was suitable material to extract the warhead safely. And Eloise Hawking, as a young lady on the Island, was the one informed by Faraday to bury Jughead in the first place.
That puts Eloise Hawking as knowing where the bomb is buried, knowing about the Island and the statue, and knowing about Ajira 316 being the plane to get her team to where she wanted them to be. Fits like a glove to me! Until I know better, that’s what I’m sticking with!
Another Star Wars link: Luke can see dead people!
Miles and Hurley had some time to discuss their own experiences of communion with the dead. Whilst Miles’ sixth sense differed from Hurley’s there’s reason to believe they stem from the same source. Hurley speaks with the dead in real-time interactions, like playing chess with Eko, but we’ve seen other people do the same thing, like Jack/Sun/Frank/Locke/Claire all seeing Christian (and Miles too, for that matter!) and Michael seeing Libby. Hurley’s ‘gift’ for communion with the dead is not at all unique to him and instead appears to be phenomena linked with, and maybe even sourced from, the Island.
Miles, on the other hand, has a unique skill, but it too may have derived from his time on the Island. What I mean is, whatever ‘force’ allows Hurley and co to see dead people somehow resides within Miles, in a different means. Bram said that if Miles joined them he could learn more about it – evidently linking Miles’ ‘gift’ and his history with his father and the Island.
Miles’ skill allows him to know the mind of the deceased up to the point where they died. Situating himself close to the body he can naturally read the memories and feelings of the dead person to understand what was going on with them, apparently as a voice in his head from them. (I find this a pleasing idea, being as it dodges the problems inherent with spirits and the afterlife.) Interestingly, the first time we saw Miles ‘commune’ with a dead person it was when the body was not present.
In Confirmed Dead Miles went up to the deceased’s bedroom and there attempted to communicate. Now, by his admission, Miles shouldn’t have been able to do this. However, the intriguing aspect to this scene was the machine Miles switched on.
Since Miles appears to have derived his powers from the Island, potentially this machine generates a similar Island-like electromagnetic force that heightens Miles’ capabilities. Obviously this is all total scientific hogwash but it is a viable explanation for Miles’ ability, and a further validation of his skill being intrinsically linked with the Island that Dharma tapped into.
We saw Miles fail to contact the deceased (probably because he didn’t have his machine with him!) and yet he lied and told Howard Gray what he wanted to hear. He could have left it there, but instead Miles came back and told the truth. The idea of Miles bursting Dharma’s bubble and breaking news of the truth about ‘the purge’ to Pierre feels paralleled to this same idea. At least this way Miles may eventually realise why his father abandoned him – it was to save him!
Dharma’s construction of The Swan (how are The Others not aware of an enormous building site on their side of the Island!?) is evidently fraught with danger, the electromagnetism located there volatile enough to yank out the filling from a man’s tooth and shoot it through his brain like a bullet through the head. (Top marks for an inventive death, mind.) Whilst the 4 8 15 16 23 42 numbers on ‘the hatch’ turned out to be a serial number, that doesn’t fully explain why they were used to enter in to a computer, let alone what Valenzetti made of them! Meanwhile, in exchange for taking the body, Miles handed Radzinsky a package. Another package we don’t know the contents of! We’ve had Ben’s vent bag, Ilana’s Ajira case and now Radzinsky’s Swan package. . .
What was in the bag Horace gave to Miles? God knows. My guess is it’s the Fail Safe switch, but whilst it remains in the bag it’s anyone’s guess. One cat that is out of the bag, however, is the security tape that Miles failed to erase. It was always going to be the astute and paranoid Phil that found it and got into Sawyer’s face about it (to be fair he was doing his job, well, no matter how irritating he may be!). Sawyer knocked Phil out to buy some time, but time is a quantity rapidly running out. With Jack and Kate registering on Roger’s radar, Sawyer and Juliet on Phil’s, Miles and Hurley on Chang’s, and Sayid on everybody’s the pressure is mounting and the temperature is rising. Some may like it hot, but a nice cool planet Hoth might be more preferable right about how. . .
28 comments:
Great review, i really enjoy reading your thoughts on the episodes!
Just one thing though, didn't Horace's package for Radzinsky turn out to BE the body-bag? Have another look but if you look closely Radzinsky takes it from Miles and shakes it out for the corpse to be put into.
I had the same impression as Timm here...
Unless I wasn't paying attention, the package that Horace gave to Miles was the body-bag...
Thirded on the body bag.
uh that was the body bag dude, without a body in it... -troll
It probably means nothing, but Bram actually said a statue not the statue. I listened to it over and over to be sure and even watched his lips as a and the require very different mouth shapes and no doubt it was a. Might mean nothing or have been a mistake by the actor but if it does mean something then it might have a more generic or metamorphical answer rather than referring to the actual statue on the Island.
Body bag.
About Miles beeing Chang's son, thanks god they didn't used this information as the plot-twist of the episode, as it's been pretty damn obvious for a long time. The look like each other, Miles had been on the island before (he was the second one to have a noose bleed, right after Charlotte), and he has super powers, which could only be explained in the Island.
I'm also taking the bet that Faraday left the Island as soon as possible when they came back in time, maybe in the submarine that Goodspeed offered them. I believe the scene on the beggining of the season is still going to happen, as well as that Lost Experience video, with Chang asking for help and Faraday on the camera. By the way, in that video, he knows what will happen to them, and baby Miles is still there. So, it's fair to say that someone (probably old Miles) will tell him about the future, he will freak out and make that video, and then he will send his family out of the Island. On the other hand, he can´t know the hole history, as, if he knew, he would alarm the rest of the Dharma and they would never accept young Ben back to their camp.
And as it goes for that fraking shadow of the statue...what on earth would they do with Jughead? Explode it on the Island? A nuclear device fits perfectly when your opponent at war resides far, far away from you. When the war is going to take place on and island, it doesn't seem to be a very good strategy...
Ha! I've not watched the episode again but I'll take you good people's word on the body bag matter!
I've avoided using quotation marks when using the 'shadow of a statue' remark because I haven't been entirely certain of the phrasing, and for something that may be a riddle then every word is key. As such, I've used it more as a paraphrase.
As for Jughead the bomb being useful. Well. If your intention is to destroy the Island then it might just be a very handy thing. . .
(For what it's worth, I hope the truth behind what's beneath the statue turns out to be something I, nor anyone else, has thought of in their wildest dreams! But in an analysis I generally have to base assumptions on given information.)
Hahah, maybe Eloise is having a guilty complex, something like Doc Brown and the DeLorean, in Back From the Future 3...
Q. 'what lies in the shadow of the statue'.
A. 'nothing'
Its a bit of a leap here but the shadow could be smokie and nobody can tell fibs once they are in the belly of the beast.
If the comment above is correct about it being 'a statue' not 'the statue' this totally rains on my theory. Plus, its not as funny as what did one snowman say to the other snowman.
NOTHING is funnier than 'what did one snowman say to the other'. It's a really great joke!
Wondering your thought on my thought below...
If you think about it. Miles is alive from 1977 (approx) to 2004 in "LINEAR" fashion. Meaning he ages normally and progresses through life between that time. He is alive and well during that time. However, he has an ability to 'hear' or 'speak' to the dead.
Now, what if Miles dies in the 'incident' on the island somewhere around the year 1978 (or somewhere around that date). From 1978 to 2004...Miles would be ... both dead and alive for most of his life right? Would this be the bridge that keeps him communicating with the dead??
And could he hear himself?
Acharaisthekey: In this theory, most of the 815 survivours would also be capable of hearing the dead, and so would Ceasar (well, IF he is really dead...).
Unless the "dying in the Incident" has some influence...
In addition to Corellian's point, I would also suggest that Miles being able to talk to his 'dead self' might contravene the space-time continuum. Like the way Pierre freaked out when those two rabbits were nearly in direct contact with each other.
Well, Caeser died in what we think at this point is the CURRENT TIME (or 2007/2008). So he wouldn't count. None of the other oceanic 815 people have died on the island in the 1977/78 time, but yes, if they were they would have the same 'power' as Miles. However, I'm basing the theory strictly on the idea that miles dies before little MILES leaves the island.
It's a reach..just wondered thoughts...there are plenty things against it...just wondered thoughts. Talking to dead self is another issue of the theory...just wondered if you died on a date on EARTH and lived after that date...if you'd have a power that communicated with both dead and alive
You´re right about Ceasar, my bad.
I sparred with you a bit on sunburnedpenguin's site, but in the end your analysis is far more intelligent than anyone else's I've read, including my own. You (like me) could stand to be a little more humble and conciliatory in the relationship department, but in the end, your analysis is the only one I find myself interested in. Thanks for doing this week after week. Your friend, tr410
Thanks, tr410. I have to say I'm a little perplexed about the "more humble and conciliatory" remark, though.
I don't recall ever having any issue with you. (To be fair I have a very transitory memory for online forum stuff.) If I made any comments back on my time at the site that you perceived as such, I apologise. It's not how I roll. I appreciate you coming round.
Off the subject but : I think the mysterious dangling white shoe (pilot, episode 1 part 1) has to do with marking 'gang' territory, sort of like graffiti...That's the only sociological symbolism that coincides with a dangling white tennis shoe.
(Christian appeared in that same episode wearing two white tennis shoes..so I've been thinking about that one shoe ever since.) The tennis shoe is like the graffiti (in the form of hieroglyphics) that abounds on the Island, where various gangs fight for various reasons. As far as the assumption the audience has adopted that the Island itself is 'alive
.. Couldn't "The Island" be the name of the LOST "game" itself? Maybe the "Island' has it's own unbreakable rules like "Myst" (One of the first and most brilliant digital games of the early '90's ..1993).) The Lost experience, capricious story line, mythology and artistic setting intertwines with Myst (named after "The Mysterious Island" by Jules Verne) over and over again. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst_franchise
I've come up with so many theories about the meaning of Lost.. but now I'm stuck on the one I began with. . that Lost is a combo of androids and humans engrossed in a digital game. No, not a Reality Show per se. A digital game. Who is at the controls? The writers? Jacob? The audience itself?
We know that the plot of LOST parallels 9/11 in every possible way.. sociological to political to psychological, ad infinitum. As do digital games ..games that reflect technology and present time mind-think like a mini mirror.
Anyway, just more odds and ends ...food for thought to add to the comments today.
from wikipedia:(but go look.. there is so much more...)
Myst's story concerns an explorer named Atrus who has the ability to write books which serve as links to other worlds, known as Ages. This practice of creating linking books was practiced by an ancient civilization known as the D'ni, whose society crumbled after being ravaged by disease. The player takes the role of an unnamed person referred to as the Stranger and assists Atrus by traveling to other Ages and solving puzzles. Over the course of the series Atrus writes a new Age for the D'ni survivors to live on, and players of the games set the course the civilization will follow.
by the way, Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne is described BU Theology Archives:
The book tells the adventures of five Americans on an uncharted island in the South Pacific..The five are able to sustain themselves on the island, producing fire, pottery, bricks, nitroglycerin, iron, a simple electric telegraph, a home in stone called the "Granite House", and even a sea-worthy ship. They also manage to find their geographical location..........
The mystery of the island seems to come from periodic and inexplicable dei ex machina: the unexplainable survival of Smith from his fall from the balloon, the mysterious rescue of his dog Top from a wild dugong, the presence of a box full of equipment (guns and ammunition, tools, etc.), the finding of a message in the sea calling for help, the finding of a lead bullet in the body of a young pig, and so on........
At a point, Ayrton's former crew of pirates arrives at the Island to use it as their hideout. After some fighting with the heroes, the pirate ship is mysteriously destroyed by an explosion, and the pirates themselves are found dead, apparently in combat, but with no visible wounds.
Six of the pirates survive and considerably injure Herbert through a gunshot. Herbert, after recovering, contracts malaria and is saved by a box of sulphate of quinine, which mysteriously appeared on the table in the Granite House.
The secret of the island is revealed when it turns out to be Captain Nemo's hideout, and home harbour of the Nautilus.
It is stated that having escaped the Maelstrom at the end of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the Nautilus sailed the oceans of the world until all its crew except Nemo had died. Now an old man with a beard, Nemo returned the Nautilus to its port under the Island.
ps... the above was the condensed version of mysterious Island...from Wikipedia.
At the least both Myst and Mysterious Island are just two more literary influences for LOST..
Just thought I'd throw this in, because it's so interesting
Anonymous: Woo. You've got the bit between your teeth about this stuff, eh? Nothing wrong with that. If enthusiasm pushes you into looking at and appreciating other things then that can only be enriching.
The white tennis shoe? For me, it just dropped out of the plane. Maybe it was in someone's luggage. Or maybe it was on someone's foot. I am thinking luggage, personally.
Interesting ideas about the 'Mysterious Island' producing unvalidated plot turns. I've never read the book. Is there ultimately some form of explanation for the inexplicable happenings?
As with Lost, there are some things (like Locke being able to walk) that have been given semi-explanations but still require a lot 'faith' on behalf of the viewer to fully comprehend. I wonder if that's how many of the mysteries will pan out.
The book LIVING LOST by J Wood, although published early on, in 2007, is excellent, to say the least. Wood has his own blog at Powell's books, so you can go there to read more of his thoughts, but I'd recommend reading Living Lost before you watch even one more episode. J Wood is a gifted professor. In Living Lost Wood begins by connecting the 'plane crash' with such events as 911 and terrorism alerts, etc., and goes from there, peeking into every cubbyhole in the collective conscious. I just added a couple in my Myst/Mysterious Island comments, but Woods has dozens more to add. Woods is ill and hasn't been able to keep up to date with his postings on Powell's books, but I hope he'll write another book once Lost ends, in 2010.
LOST employees at least two dozen writers and who knows how many advisers or experts from various fields. Go to TED to see J J Abram's lecture on Lost.. that's another fascinating bit of insight. Bottom line, Lost was conceived, written, cast and the pilot episode was shot in a very short time period. Years of episodes followed. The writers were able to dip into audience reaction for every human reference. belief, experience and metaphor to extend and intertwine the cat's cradle of the diverging strings of plot and characters in LOST. But we have to remember that the basic premise, the conceit, of the show is laid out in that first episode. The clues in the pilot episodes are the keys to lost. And there are alot of clues. The dangling tennis shoe may be one Jack 'waking up' way back in the jungle, knowing exactly how make his way to the beach, another. Jack's perspective, as the camera pans from him standing on screen right, looking to the left, across the ocean.. the camera finally landing on him on the left side of the screen looking right (mirroring himself) is another. Walt's abilities to manifest his ideas into reality another.. the list goes on and on. The so called easter eggs or red herrings the writers scatter all over the LOST scene are interesting 'likely stories' of their own, metaphors that involve the audience to the point of hysteria. Look at all the message boards on the Internet.. the entire community of LOST viewers is in love with the details.. but I found out, early on, that if you wade through that and try to comment on the real premise of Lost.. well, you get stoned to death. As Locke said when Sawyer offered help by lowering him down the well "what would be the fun in that?" LOST viewers are in it for the fun. The distraction.
The singular most important thing about LOST is that it's a groundbreaking TV event. The series has sent it's viewers to Wikipedia, to books, to every method of research in order to think about science, philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, geology, geography, art.. ad infinitum. LOST has forced it's viewers to think.. to actively, not passively, THINK. What a marvelous step forward in something we've always called the 'boob-tube".. Television: the great anesthesia of the 20th , 21st century. J Woods suggests things like "tell someone that they absolutely cannot think of a polar bear.' ..(not going to happen.)
That last comment on 'whatever you do, don't think about a polar bear'.. was directed at my opening comment on the white dangling shoe(s) and to all of the visual 'easter eggs' strewn in our path..(and of course the polar bear itself that manifests itself on the island as one of the first 'monsters'.) Suffice to say, the writers are very clever fellows. In another life, I'd definitely be scrambling for that job. Last night's episode, The Variable, and the previous episodes, centered on the return of the Oceanic survivors, are different, character-centric mini soap operas. But at least they weren't centered around the frenzied, endless, everyone in line, running back and forth we've been panting to keep up with over the years..(and how in the heck do they get their endless supplies of fresh water bottles on those runs?) I think the final LOST episode, and of course the last season itself is going to be full of wonderful surprises..lots of fun. Meantime, do read J Wood's book.. and go to his blog at powells site And do check out JJ Abrams on TED.
Thinking about What lies in the shadow of the statue? Wonder if 'lies' could mean 'untruths?' If so, will the real liar please stand up. Ben? Or just about every/anyone else. I also thought of the statue of Liberty... and thought of New York. But since 'what did one snowman say to the other?" was such a carrot for us horses to follow, maybe the answer is going to be more intriguing and more fun than we can imagine. Here are some dictionary definitions for 'shadow.' Food for thought, to say the least.
# shade within clear boundaries
# darkness: an unilluminated area; "he moved off into the darkness"
# apparition: something existing in perception only; "a ghostly apparition at midnight"
# a premonition of something adverse; "a shadow over his happiness"
# trace: an indication that something has been present; "there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim"; "a tincture of condescension"
# refuge from danger or observation; "he felt secure in his father's shadow"
# follow, usually without the person's knowledge; "The police are shadowing her"
# a dominating and pervasive presence; "he received little recognition working in the shadow of his father"
# tail: a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements
# make appear small by comparison; "This year's debt dwarfs that of last year"
# an inseparable companion; "the poor child was his mother's shadow"
n Hurley’s script, Luke would not have turned from Vader when he learned he was his father and, instead, would have accepted his offer to rule the galaxy as father and son and rid the universe of the evil Emperor. Interestingly for Lost, Luke not taking this path resulted in him having his arm chopped off.
Hurley is damn moron. And whoever wrote this episode is one, as well. Luke had already lost his hand before he rejected Vader's offer to help get rid of the Emperor.
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