tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post8637722592490175517..comments2023-11-16T16:45:02.759+00:00Comments on A Lost Place: Retroview: 1.5 White RabbitAngeloComethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05303083576143373383noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-82543186135748352192012-07-16T04:53:40.693+01:002012-07-16T04:53:40.693+01:00Art is not made in a vacuum. I find it helps to un...Art is not made in a vacuum. I find it helps to understand how things are made. The best art is often flawed. Two little facts you might want to be aware of in placing the first part of season one in context.<br /><br />Damon Lindeloff has recently started breaking his self imposed silence about the series by appearing on Kevin Pollack's web interview show (available for viewing on You Tube and on other sites).<br /><br />DL makes particular mention of White Rabbit. At this point in the series he was all alone in guiding the writing team and setting up production of LOST. J.J. Abrams had gone off to do Mission Impossible III and Carlton Cuse had not yet been signed on. <br /><br />Lindeloff was getting little or no sleep and was really starting to lose it. He reveals that he felt sure he was going to lose his job and possibly his career over LOST at this point. He had no confidence that he would pull things together.<br /><br />Lindeloff tells Kevin Pollack how his father had passed away less than a year earlier and White Rabbit in particular had all kinds of autobiographical elements worked into it.<br /><br />In another interview near the end of or just after season two or three, Lindeloff reveals that the pace of production was so tight and furious during season one that LOST didn't really have a series "bible" to draw on. It is only during hiatus between seasons one and two that they had time to actually figure out the details of Dharma, the others, Smoke monster and many other iconic elements of the plot. They were pretty much making up and breaking the "rules" as they went.<br /><br />My feeling is that they later decided to disregard what they had previously done in the series, and so be it.<br /><br />How Smoke monster works in the details was and is of no consequence overall to these guys. Inconsistency in Christian's actions and motivations doesn't matter to them because the show is not about Nameless. It is about Jack and how HE feels. <br /><br />Jack is sleep deprived and thirsty and feels the pressure of unfair expectations from the other survivors and even those of his dead father reaching back from beyond the grave. Just as Lindeloff was feeling the expectations of his own dad as he took on the challenge of Show Runner on one of the most expensive new shows on television. Just as Lindeloff felt responsible to the expectations of 14 cast members who didn't understand what they were doing and all wanted the show to be about them.<br /><br />Great art is sometimes about things that reach beyond itself. White Rabbit was about expectations and qualities of leadership and doubt. Just as J.J. Abrams told Lindeloff that he trusted him and expected him to take over and run LOST, Locke tells Jack that he has to step up to people's expectations of him as Leader.<br /><br />By episode 6, with LOST pilot still unaired, the live together die alone speach has to have meant more to Damon Lindeloff than just the context of the story of these people pooling together to survive on the island.Andre7noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-72054797826806771352012-04-20T21:18:58.282+01:002012-04-20T21:18:58.282+01:00Keith - No, just really slow. House...Rising Sun h...Keith - No, just really slow. House...Rising Sun half complete! - ACAngeloComethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05303083576143373383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-20217009998784473932012-04-20T21:18:32.937+01:002012-04-20T21:18:32.937+01:00Keith - No, just really slow. House...Rising Sun h...Keith - No, just really slow. House...Rising Sun half complete! - ACAngeloComethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05303083576143373383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-81546730690277444762012-04-20T17:49:28.751+01:002012-04-20T17:49:28.751+01:00Retroview over?Retroview over?Keithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09949046398267722627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-30580799335056174212012-03-28T04:44:05.097+01:002012-03-28T04:44:05.097+01:00AC, so glad you're posting again! I had your s...AC, so glad you're posting again! I had your site bookmarked, and on a whim decided to check back in, so glad I did..Great analysis.. I have always had much difficulty grasping the concept of nameless/smokey. The theory i came up with for myself; when Jacob's brother died, he became so much more than a brother reincarnated. Smokey's essense is also tied to the dead; in other words, when becoming Christian, Issabella, or Locke etc., he's not completely Jacob's brother he is also the person he is manifesting. Might be a stretch, but think about this; the scene where young Jacob was appearing to Nameless and saying "you can't break the rules", Sawyer could see Jacob clearly. An explanation for this is, Jacob was being manifested by Smokey, and it was outside of Smokey's control. Then of course, nameless chased him through the woods and tripped, then yelled "Don't tell me what I can't do!", a clear reference to John Locke being trapped within nameless but his personality surfacing, also outside of Smokey's control.. Eh, I know it's a stretch.. but I think nameless trying to take credit for leading Jack to water is also a stretch! -bobtAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-67444137424114078352012-03-22T00:07:33.819+00:002012-03-22T00:07:33.819+00:00Achara - It's an interpretation, but I didn...Achara - It's an interpretation, but I didn't get enough vibe of the episode to reach that kind of benefit. If Jack was delusional there was nothing to support that argument. Honestly I think LOST had an idea about what Christian was early but that got subverted by later plot developments.<br /><br />I also know I am rather inconsistent with the TV postings but I will keep up with it. There are actually a lot of write ups done and in store, Boardwalk Empire included! It just so happened that it wasn't current so took a backseat for a while. I still aim to watch an episode and write before seeing the next, and so sometimes to preserve that integrity I have to hold back. I'll get there!<br /><br />AC - from mobileAngeloComethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05303083576143373383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-35830785686438060112012-03-21T23:54:44.585+00:002012-03-21T23:54:44.585+00:00Achara - It's an interpretation, but I didn...Achara - It's an interpretation, but I didn't get enough vibe of the episode to reach that kind of benefit. If Jack was delusional there was nothing to support that argument. Honestly I think LOST had an idea about what Christian was early but that got subverted by later plot developments.<br /><br />I also know I am rather inconsistent with the TV postings but I will keep up with it. There are actually a lot of write ups done and in store, Boardwalk Empire included! It just so happened that it wasn't current so took a backseat for a while. I still aim to watch an episode and write before seeing the next, and so sometimes to preserve that integrity I have to hold back. I'll get there!<br /><br />AC - from mobileAngeloComethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05303083576143373383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-72989886583930505692012-03-21T19:46:53.874+00:002012-03-21T19:46:53.874+00:00Is it possible that the ocean was Jake hallucinati...Is it possible that the ocean was Jake hallucinating while the others were nameless?<br /><br />I don't think all of them were nameless, I think some of them were and I always beleived Jack was going a little crazy!<br /><br />Man, I'm glad your write ups are back...wish you would have continued on with Boardwalk Empire though :)Acharaisthekeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00030529545899739445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-31915743615563254842012-03-07T21:33:52.733+00:002012-03-07T21:33:52.733+00:00Keith / Van - I think I arrive at a conclusion abo...Keith / Van - I think I arrive at a conclusion about Nameless' behaviour somewhere in between your points made here. Leading Jack to water is very much something Jacob might have done (only, of course, Jacob has that whole 'hands off' approach for people on the Island). So I take the view that Nameless wants Jack to become a believer in the Island, in 'him' (under the guise of his dead father) in order for him to perhaps use him as a tool to kill Jacob. He leads him to water and inspires him to leadership, making him a perfect candidate.<br /><br />All that works just fine for me. The trouble is that Nameless doesn't bother with Jack after this episode until, what, Season 6!? That's how I remember it. I suppose we have to figure he turned his attention on Locke and Ben as his chosen subjects to reap revenge and get 'across the sea'. . .AngeloComethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05303083576143373383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-49071593965682005722012-03-06T13:07:44.239+00:002012-03-06T13:07:44.239+00:00Aside from the inconsistency of Christian appearin...Aside from the inconsistency of Christian appearing in the water, my understanding of Nameless appearing to Jack was simply to lead him to fresh water as a means to survive and get him on his team. I suppose in the episode Jack nearly dies by chasing Nameless and so the episode could also be viewed as Nameless trying to kill one of Jacob's listed people. What an episode.Vannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466288276801812505.post-35631398359241929142012-03-06T02:14:11.590+00:002012-03-06T02:14:11.590+00:00Great write up and well done for trying to shoe ho...Great write up and well done for trying to shoe horn the main plot of this episode into some sort of logic. On second viewing it really doesn’t make much sense for MIB to be bringing Jack alone into the jungle to face some daddy issues and realize that he has to become a leader for the crash survivors. It would actually make more sense for Jacob to be doing this. Jacob did once appear as Christian Shephard in the cabin but I believe in later episodes it was revealed as just MIB telling pork pies.<br /><br />As you say, from the information we’ve been given any explanation is pretty weak.Keithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09949046398267722627noreply@blogger.com