Because Ryan is a slacker, this week’s blog post is by Jen! — I have to admit; I am now very, very nervous. We’re in the last four hours of season three, and in this episode, we encounter an invisible man and another man who appears not to age. We see Ben’sd ead mother, somewhat confirming that Christian Shepherd’s reappearance on the island was not a figment of his son’s imagination. I’m wondering where all this is going.
The Others are much scarier and more threatening than I could have imagined and the survivors’ distrust of each other and lack of communication skills will certainly be their undoing. Jack, the de facto leader of the survivors, is the world’s biggest rube. The fact that such a spineless nitwit is a doctor, let alone that everyone seems to look up to him, is frightening.
Locke is some sort of Messiah. At least, Ben thinks Locke is some sort of Messiah. This scares and angers him. We see that Ben was a sneaky, sadistic S.O.B. from the very beginning, so what he does to Locke at the end of “The Man Behind the Curtain” is shocking, but not surprising. We found out a lot about Ben in this episode, but there’s certainly way more where that come from. Despite what he and Mikhail say, Ben is the most powerful man on the island, at least for now. He feels his power slipping and is resorting to some pretty drastic measures. I still think, despite what went on in Jacob’s cabin, that Ben is pretending to be under the sway of Jacob, whoever he is, and is using Jacob to intimidate his minions.
Few things on TV scare me. That one episode of The X-Files with the malformed lady under the bed made me sleep with the lights on for a week, and just the mention of Bob on Twin Peaks can still send chills up my spine. Other than that, I considered myself relatively scare-proof. Until the Jacob sequence in this episode. That was the scariest moment in the whole series so far. I don’t know who that figure is in the stills making their way ’round the net, but I’m too chicken to figure it out. I got the impression that nobody besides Ben had ever laid eyes on Jacob. The expressions on Tom and Alpert’s faces upon hearing about Locke’s impending visit make me wonder if they doubt Jacob’s existence, too.
Ben’s own daughter seems suspicious of his motives. Has she caught on? Why would Locke need a gun for a visit to someone who has previously been described as a loving, benevolent leader? I think she’s got his number, but how?
Where has Danielle been, anyway, besides looking for dynamite?
A volcano is coming into play. I don’t think the volcano is as dormant as Olivia tells the children it is. The ring of powder around Jacob’s house looks like ash.
Speaking of Alpert, he’s been on that island for quite a while. He asks Ben, “Do you remember birthdays?” — as if he’d stopped keeping track of them long ago. Why does Ben age, but not Alpert? I find it interesting that it seems as if Ben has become his superior.
Who is this Horace character? Is he Gerald De Groot? Horace Goodspeed sounds like an alias to me. Was De Groot in trouble with the law?
So Ben’s mom dies in childbirth, seven months into her pregnancy, much like the rest of the pregnant women under his watch on the island. I don’t know about you guys, but the whole baby/fertility subplot gives me the willies. I really hope Kate is not, in fact, pregnant.
Notes and Notions:
- Shut up, Kate. Sayid has more on the ball than you and everybody else in your camp combined, so stop talking to him like a child.
- Locke has got a bad, bad temper. Terry O’ Quinn plays Locke with such a great combination of hapless pathos, magical wisdom, and rage. We’ve been raving about Elizabeth Mitchell and Michael Emerson all season, but Terry can still blow me away, too.
- I still get a kick out of the fact that everyone on the island has either a dead parent or an evil parent or both. It’s like a big Disney movie, times fifty. I like to think it’s Damon and Carlton’s way of sticking it to the bosses at ABC. But it probably isn’t.
- How can Uncle Rico be so mean? No, Uncle Rico! Take that back!
- Like Kate, Ben kills his own father. Locke tells Kate in “Left Behind” that “they” don’t approve of what she’s done. Considering what Ben did to his old man and what ultimately happens to his body, Kate’s murder of her dad doesn’t seem like the kind of thing they should be concerned about. So what is this really all about?
- “The Man Behind the Curtain” discussions at TheFuselage.com, Lost-Forum.com, and Pop Candy
hi, love catching up with you guys in US just before we get the same airing the following Mon….ie we will be able to see EP20 Man Behind The Curtain on Mon, 14th May…..cant wait now due to the high excitement it seems to have generated on this and other fan sites.
Fernando, in answer to your question about the comment from Hurley to Desmond..re “haggis”….it’s the traditional food of Scotland…..made from a sheep’s stomach lining and some other delightful delicacies! It actually sounds awful but tastes quite nice….well I suppose it’s an acquired taste. Perhaps Hurley doesn’t appreciate it’s flavour!
Thanks. Jennifer In Ireland (but half scottish, brother)
oops….sorry for the quick posts…..
BUT….after reading Georges post, something hit me…..
Someone here previously noted the weather event (i forget what) that occurred in that time frame is very close at hand….if you think about it, why wouldn;t ben want to attack the beach earlier now that there is someone new there????….unless he knows that the weather event will cause the distraction he needs to successfully pull this extraction off…. even though the losties know the others are coming….i bet this storm throws everything off and the others do get the islands pregos….just seems weird…… if i were this diabolical leader of the others….why wouldn;t i want to get that woman ASAP so she can;t fill the losties in on anything happening in the real world or potentially contact them using the phone????….he didn;t seem to care at all really about this woman and such…..peace….(again 🙂 )
The Jacob scene reminded me of the original Psycho. I don’t know what to believe — it’s so wacked-out, it could be anything. 3-years watching and studying this show and I know 10% of nothing. I still like it.
Jars in front of the window at Jacob’s place — remember Arntz had jars. But at this point, it’s difficult to make an Arntz/Jacob connection.
Whoever/whatever Jacob is — is being kept within the boundries of the gun powder/ash line. Looked fresh, too. I think snakes won’t cross such a line. O-o-o snakes/serpents! (Satan)
It’s difficult to make an Annie/Danielle connection. The two have absolutely no resemblance. Young Ben would have demanded Annie’s survival (being his only friend), but who knows; seems he’s a cold-blooded murderer. Keep your eyes peeled for the male wooden doll; that will be Annie. But she would have grown to hate Ben like everyone else.
The Dharma school marm was a babe.
The young Ben actor NAILED his part. Let’s see more of him. It was so great to see something of Ben’s past and those nicely starched and clean Dharma jumpsuits.
The original Hostiles look like survivors from the Black Rock (the flight 815 of that era). Maybe throughout history, a group of new castaways or arrivals is forced to fight the current natives for island dominance? Back and forth, forever. Injuries heal fast. If every woman dies that gives birth, the population never increases. Giving birth and certain types of wounds are the only fatalities.
What happened to Dharma people on duty in the hatches during the gas revolt? Ironic that Dharma was wiped out with its own brand of gas.
I believe the portal to the island exists in Portland. Originally controlled by Dharma, now by the phoney Mittelos. Widmore Corp knows something about the island and is chopping away.
The working title for this show (before they came up with LOST) could have been ‘A-Hole Dads”.
George… in 1953 (around when Ben would have been born) there were ZERO days in December when the temperature as under 32 degrees.
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/pdxclimate/PG19.html
Doesn’t prove anything except that I’m a dork. 😉
Rousseau’s first name is Danielle.
Did anyone catch the model and year of the red sports car that pulled over to help with Mr. and Mrs. Linus during their distress? That will tell you the year that Ben was born — maybe…
It looked like something from the 60s to me rather than the 50s. Dharma was born late 60s/early 70s. When Roger Linus arrived at the island, everything still looked new.
What about the guy in the asylum with Hurley, the one with the numbers? Wasn’t he on the island serving in the army or something?
You know the problem I have with the shows writers is that this prolongation (till 2010) will leave so many past questions unanswered. The human mind can only retain so much!!! I want answers from back in seasons 1 and 2!
David, you and me both. I hope the writers/producers are keeping tabs of all the unanswered questions and plan to explain much of it.
I think the asylum numbers guy (Dave?) was in the Navy and stationed on a nearby island. He and his mate listened to the numbers broadcast (by Danielle?) on their radio over and over. It drove Dave mad. His mate used the numbers for financial gain and ended up killing himself. I think this is correct.
I bet that some of the current Others are actually old Dharma people who either switched sides or, at the very least, formed a sort of uneasy alliance(besides Ben). Mikhail seems like a good possibility. Maybe Radzinsky? We know that he was in the hatch with Kelvin, years after the purge.
Fernando:
the ship offshore = 130 kilometers? or 130 k’s?
The only answer I absolutly need to have right now is…..how many millions of people watching it air live all went whaaaaaaaaaat, or whooooooooaa, or just a deep breath when ben shot locke. seriously, lets say 10 million were watching live, you know half those fans all did it at the same time…….ish might have shifted the planet a little bit. HA!
Seriously though, Best episode ever…..all the ep did was bring up new questions and i couldnt be happier.
Bill, the numbers guy was Leonard. Dave was Hurley’s imaginary friend/id.
Regarding kms vs clicks, I think “click” is a military measure. Not sure if it’s a unit of its own vs slang.
I based the year of Ben’s birth on Michale Emerson’s bio saying he was born in 1954. So presumably Ben was born around then (mid-50s). That would put his arrival on the island at around age 8-10, which would be mid-60s… maybe a little early for the whole hippie movement.
Bill and David,
The asylum guy’s name was Leonard; the signal he heard from the island was the numbers, not Danielle’s distress message. But I am not sure he actually heard it; it could have been a friend of him. There was something about another guy Hurley goes to track down in Australia who used the numbers to win the lottery, and got nothing back but bad luck.
Damien,
The closed captions clearly show Roger saying “coming back from the plane”, not from the “Flame”, though it was an interesting idea of yours.
Peace.
Hmmm. The current “others” are the former hostiles. Was a younger Tom not in the background of one of the official Dharma videos, maybe in a labcoat?
Are there still a group of hostiles? There was a very prominent clip (last season I think) of a group thought to be “others” wearing clothing very similar to what Richard was wearing when he talked to young Ben. The Teddy Bear Scene. All we saw was their feet was they walked past.
Could grey-ash-powder been a barrier to keep the “Spiirt of Jacob” “In”. Like sanctified Church Ash,Ground priest bones or something mumbojumbo, exorcist stuff….cause ole’ “Jacob is either a Ghost or a simple special effect…
…..like in the “Wizard of OZ’ smoke and mirrors.
Locke is not dead…but it was creepy lying in the ,dead pit.
“jacob is just another special effect, yup.
Unless Kate is part of a double blind con….She has degenerated into a flake
Yeah, the teddy bear scene was last season. Eko and Jin saw them while looking for Michael.
I’m pretty convinced that Jacob is Locke.
Jacob:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/spilledmilkinc/jacob.jpg
Locke:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/spilledmilkinc/locke.jpg
Crappy photoshop edit of Locke:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/spilledmilkinc/lockejacob.jpg
It is very exciting to me. I love the time loop idea. I think there is a WHOLE lot of stuff that Ben doesn’t know about. My friends all thought the Jacob scene was ridiculous, but I think it was awesome. And I cheered when he beat the hell out of Patchy. I like Patchy, but he is one of those characters that you laugh at when he gets beat up, even if you don’t want him to go away.
Locke is officially awesome again. Of course he’s not going away. I have a feeling that the two remaining episodes are going to be amazing. I also have a feeling Charlie’s going to die next week. I’m not too upset.
This was my favorite episode of the season, seriously. I need to watch it again.
Great episode! I really really hope Locke isn’t dead. Ben needs a swift kick in the nuts. That’d learn him.
Klicks = Kilometres. As Wikipedia says: “Slang terms for kilometre include “klick” (sometimes spelled “click” or “klik”)
Haggis is lovely!
R.
Regarding Ben’s birthplace outside of Portland, assuming it was Portland, Oregon and not some southern Portland of which I know not: I grew up 60 miles south of Portland, Oregon and in December there are no leaves on the trees and everything is tending towared bare and brown. The woods they were hiking in looked like they were in the full growth of summer, plus no one would be driving around in a convertable with the top down. It would be very cold and probably rainy. Also the shortest days of the year are in late December so it would be getting dark very early. So they either made a terrible goof OR Ben is lying about his birthday too, OR time is so messed up that maybe it isn’t even really December on the Island. If they lost time when the hatch imploded WHO KNOWS what day, month or year it really is.
Regarding Ben’s age. Our current Ben looks to be around 50 or so (I think the actor is in his early 50’s). That would put his birth year in the early to mid 1950’s. The child Ben looked to be about 12 or 13 years old when he arrived on the Island. That would make the year about 1964 to maybe 1969. But all we have seen indicates that Dharma came into existence in the late 1970’s or early 80’s. Have I missed something or is this a big time discrepancy? But if Ben was 12 years old in 1980, that would make his birth year 1968, and I like Michael Emerson a lot, but there is no way that our grown up Ben is only 38 to 40 years old….is there?
I didn’t know just how badly I wanted to see a Ben flashback until this episode. I thought it was all really well done for the most part and I loved seeing Uncle Rico as Ben’s good for nothing Dad. I guess Uncle Rico is good at ruining lives.
Ben’s background certainly explains a lot. No Mom, alcoholic good for nothing Dad and an island sized chip on his shoulder. As evil as I may think Ben is, he has always maintained a sort of humanity about him, maybe this is due to good acting, but this episode drove home the fact that underneath it all Ben is just a big lonely kid that wants his Mommy.
Did Ben create an imaginary friend? This was my first thought. I mean he was a mixed up kid growing up on a weird Island, having a friend that only he can see makes sense. Of course, then Locke hears “Help Me” and everything changes.
I like the Jacob is Locke theory, but I kind of also like the idea that Locke has a long lost brother? Locke really doesn’t know much about his past or his family and why was Ben so insistent that Locke kill his father? Maybe this explains why Ben has wanted to get Locke so badly. Certainly other people have been miraculously healed on the island (Rose for one). So… Evil twin….Anyone?
As always I am usually more interested in what is going on at the beach. I have always maintained that Juliet is good, I hope I am right, either way it will be interesting to see how the Losties deal with her situation.
Just some little thoughts and questions:
-Where is Annie? Please tell me Ben didn’t gas the one girl who was nice to him.
-How creepy was that mass grave…and how big is this flippin Island that the Losties didn’t find that sooner?
-I’m not buying the Dharma Initiative as nicey hippy kids seeking harmony. Nuh-uh. Um, teachers with guns? Killer death ray fence?
-I loved the connection with the van full of beer and a corpse that Hurley and Charlie took joyriding and Ben’s begining as an evil-doer. Shangri-La.
-Clearly the hostiles aren’t “natives” so why are they referred to as such?
-Don’t know if it was just bad production ideas or “Lost Time”, but Richard has been the same age for like 30 years and Ben was 12 and then suddenly middle aged for ever.
Can’t wait for next week!
Please tell me who is Uncle Rico. I don’t have cable and only get six channels.
Awesome episode! In the first scene before discussing the tape recorder Ben tells Richard it is his birthday and says “You remember birthdays don’t you Richard?” This guy is ageless. I like the previous post about an age cap or something along those lines.
I hope you guys aren’t forgetting that Locke didn’t kill his father. Sawyer did it for him. Ben killed his own father in the van. Though the screencaptions do look like Locke….I don’t know. Ben can maybe see Jacob because he killed…Locke did not kill. Locke also maybe can be smokey/jacob. Don’t forget Locke hung around walt a lot and showed him how to hunt and stuff..but then the polar bear showed up one episode. The horse with kate, dave with hurley and I forget what else. Locke is always around everywhere. So it could be locke. The “help me” I am not sure. Locke does heal a lot faster. I just don’t know. I also remembered that with locke didn’t he see the monster and changed somehow a bit after seeing it? So maybe he is not smokey…
And yeah..Naomi healed really fast.
I did like the portland connection.
I am just confused. Awesome episode. And yeah…Sawyer (james) killed Lockes Father!
(sorry if that was a bit jumbled. typing as i was thinking)
oh and patchy didn’t die either apparently. Has locke really killed anyone?
Uncle Rico is a reference to the actor who played Ben’s dad last night … he also plays “Uncle Rico” in the movie “napoleon dynamite”. I was laughing when I realized it was him and despite the intense episode I found myself thinking “i bet i can throw this football over them there mountains”. Uncle Rico, whether you like or hate the movie, is a classic character.
Great … GREAT episode last night.
Thanks, George. Have only seen Napoleon Dynamite once, but it is one of my daughter’s favorites.
This episode was indeed a game changer, we had many answers but yet another mystery probably one of the biggest. Was Jacob a show done by Ben? But if was, why would he do such a thing right before atempting to kill Locke? I don’t think so, that what the hell was it??? I’m starting to think that maby some Aliens are involved…something like in a comic book with superman, green lantern and and powerfull alien burried within his space ship in the ground for tousends of years.Naah.The episode rocked but left me absolutly clueless. One thing is sure, Ben is a mad and a really bad man.
I am wondering if all of that “gravel” type stuff outside of Jacob’s house is what he uses when he goes out as the monster (Prey-like)?? Does anyone think Jacob could be the monster?
Also, I think Jacob spoke to Locke and did say “Help me.” I think Ben didn’t hear it and that is why he was so threatened. Ben looked truly surprised at what Jacob had said to Locke.
I don’t read every site about lost….but is ben named after Linus Carl Pauling who was born in Portland Oregon? He almost discovered the double helix. He was an american Quantum chemist and biochemist….Anyway…I was just wondering. Oh just read about it on wikipedia. I am not a science person 🙂 🙂
Perhaps the episode in Jacob’s house was Ben testing Locke’s reaction or to see if he really did “kill” someone. Maybe killers actually see Jacob and non-killers do not. Whatever reaction Ben was looking for, evidently Locke did not produce it since Ben supposedly killed him in the end. Locke did not pass Ben’s or perhaps Jacob’s test.
One thing I noticed when they did a closeup on the mass grave – the skull they focused on clearly had a bullet hole in the forehead, above the eye. Not a gas death, I’d have to say.
I saw the painting in Jacob’s place as a dog.
I too was confused by the lamp being broken and then apparently not.
The jars in Jacob’s place looked like honey to me.
Another thing I noticed an episode or so back was a book on Ben’s shelf in the tent I think. The authors names were visible – I looked it up and it was a book on a smallpox epidemic.
Not sure about Ben’s age. The scene where he killed his father they had a bad wig on him to make him look younger, but they didn’t seem to worry about working on his crow’s feet, which look like that of a 35-40 year old at best. Maybe they don’t count on a lot of HD viewers.
The hostiles were all barefoot.
Locke is by far the most interesting character to me. He seems to oscillate between pure belief and pure skepticism. But it’s hard for me to picture him in any way as holy, as some do. Last episode he lied, lied, lied, and lied some more to manipulate Sawyer into murder.
I still wonder how the Black Rock got on land in the middle of the island.
And what’s up with the coming 16 episode seasons? Seems a bit short – “24” seems to manage, um, 24 episodes pretty well in one stretch without repeats.
The writers seem to be giving us all kinds of mythologies to get “lost” in — i.e., purgatory; the Freudian symbolism of “killing the father;” literary references like Lord of the Flies, etc. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard to figure out–they’ve purposely given us many potential lines to follow, and maybe they’re connected in a grand theory/outcome and maybe not. My guess is Damon and Carlton will incorporate some of those elements but give us their own twist too.
One intriguing line is the “Wizard of Oz” theory: Could Kate be Dorothy (no home– she blew it up!); Sawyer the Tin Man or Scarecrow, as you prefer (seeking a heart, or brain); Jack either the TM or S; and Locke the Cowardly Lion, at present finding his true strength (though he showed his wimpy stripes when he had someone else kill his father). Is Jacob the Wizard– and if so, who and what is he? Why and how would Locke be the Wizard? Or is Ben the Wizard? After all, he was Henry Gale for a good long time there– and Henry Gale was of course the Wizard in the actual movie. Just a thought.
This episode also has very scary implications for our darling Losties. If the Hostiles used biological warfare on the Dharma folks and committed genocide, what’s stopping them from plotting the same for our group?
And what about the Hanso Foundation? Is that who the Hostiles are? I never heard or read that Hanso is the same as Dharma; has anyone else? Also, if you followed the Hanso Foundation Web site over the summer, it made clear there was a war between two factions, Alvar Hanso (the supposed good guy), and people who usurped his platform somehow. Maybe Hanso is Dharma, and the Usurpers are the Hostiles? Will we ever see Alvar, I wonder? And doesn’t Richard look like Thomas Mittelverk, for those who followed the Web site?
I agree with folks who think Locke will stay alive, though I’m concerned about the fact that Terry O’Quinn is selling his house in Hawaii. For one thing, Ben didn’t shoot Locke in his one remaining kidney, but lower down, it looks like!
Is this the best TV show ever, or what?
Speaking of the Hanso Foundation, it is about time for some heavy-duty Hanso info.
What about Alvar Hanso? Rachel Blake? Thomas Mittlewerk? The Global Welfare Consortium?
Oh, and I hope we at least get some hints about the Four-Toed Foot. Unless that doesn’t get much airplay until season 6, The FInal Season. (I was glad to hear they have mapped the end. That helps keep me hooked in.)
Didn’t Ageless von Hostile’s clothing (when he met rabbit-boy Ben) look like pirate clothes?
Also…..rabbits according to Penguins Dictionary of Symbol mean “like the moon…rabbits are linked to that oldest of deities, the Earth Mother (mother earth??that was on chalkboard?) to the symbolism of water….renewal of life in all it’s shapes.” At the end of the synopis of the symbolism of a rabbit or hare….it says “All were the companions of Hecate, protector of children, but haunting crossroads and inventor of witchcraft”.
We “saw” jacob at night…
Maybe that was why jacob did not like the flashlight. He was some being who did not like light. Hecate’s powers are stronger at night…maybe like jacobs.
http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrRabbits.html
Locke seems to know instictively that he can’t kill anyone or he will lose whatever connection he has with the Island. Maybe it’s the Island itself that is at war with the “hostiles”. It is personafied in Jacob who Ben has confined to that one area. The Island is asking Locke for help. This enrages Ben.
Also…..rabbits according to Penguins Dictionary of Symbol mean “like the moon…rabbits are linked to that oldest of deities, the Earth Mother (mother earth??that was on chalkboard?) to the symbolism of water….renewal of life in all it’s shapes.” At the end of the synopis of the symbolism of a rabbit or hare….it says “All were the companions of Hecate, protector of children, but haunting crossroads and inventor of witchcraft”.
We “saw” jacob at night…
Maybe that was why jacob did not like the flashlight. He was some being who did not like light. Hecate’s powers are stronger at night…maybe like jacobs.
(look up rabbit/hare in symbolism dictionary) It’s got to be important if ben let his rabbit go and the woman in the painting is holding what looks like a rabbit)
oops sorry for the double posts
Nice job on the Hacate/rabbit link, Nadia!
And also Nameste
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste
Jacob has god-like powers but needs a human to help him … Jacob is clearly unhappy with Ben being the human who helps HIM–that’s why he (Jacob) is asking Locke to “Help [him].” Jacob’s request for Locke’s help will require Jacob to heal his gunshot wound–why not? … wasn’t Jacob able to cure Juliette’s sister’s cancer? … healing a gunshot wound would seem like an easy job for Jacob. Oh yes, Ben, (the king of people with daddy issues) sees (or saw) himself as being stronger than Locke, since Ben had the gonads to kill his own father.
P.S. could the smoke monster actually be Jacob?
Since Jacob seems to be physically restrained where he is, maybe the Smoke Monster is how he gets around the Island-his emissary or spiritual self. We already know that Smokie cannot detach from the Island physically.
At lunch, had to watch the episode again. Just as good.
Locke took credit for killing Cooper when he brought him to camp.
Roger (Work Man) demands ANOTHER $30,000 in a rage because of the job danger. $30,000 was pretty good money in the early 70s. $60k plus all the beer you could drink would be serious compensation.
The red sports car driven by Horace Goodsby 32 miles from Portland was a Karmann Ghia — first convertible was 1957-58. Max age for Ben is 49-50.
The photos from SpilledMilkInc. are compelling. The flash of Jacob looks A LOT like our boy, Locke.
Remember, Ben warned Locke about the flashlight — turn that off, Jacob doesn’t like technology — he’s like you. Think Locke has a mystic relative or brotha?
technology = flashlight? Why didn’t the kerosene from the lantern start a fire?
Connie from Alaska Says:
“…But if Ben was 12 years old in 1980, that would make his birth year 1968, and I like Michael Emerson a lot, but there is no way that our grown up Ben is only 38 to 40 years old….is there?”
I would have guessed around 40 before i found out Michael Emerson’s real age. Kinda surprised he is that old, actually.
Heather, Uncle Rico is sort of known for making people look like flippin’ idiots and ruining their lives. 🙂
Connie — the Dharma being from the 1980s or 1970s I think refers to the films in the hatches bearing a date stamp saying so. Maybe Dharma has contineud to operate and send people to the island (which would explain food drops) despite all its members of the island being killed.
Or, maybe the Hostiles are also a faction of Dharma in a big us vs them experiment. So much of the films refer to other groups and not discussing the tasks they have been enlisted to perform. I know I’ve said this before but I am not at all convinced that the Hostiles are not either a part of (or rogue offshoot from) Dharma.
Ben’s rabbit = “down the rabbit hole,” a la Alice in Wonderland?
Continuing the Wizard of Oz theme, is Ben the Wicked Witch of the West, who has the rest of the Others under his spell?
Connie – I don’t think Ben’s age is an issue in the story… but who knows? The car they used in the shot may have been “close” to the era they were looking for. There may not be a whole lot of choice for period cars in Hawaii.
Michael Emerson’s real age kinda’ surprised me, too. Unless he LIED on his actor’s bio.
What a fantastic episode, the visit to Jacob was genuinely scary.
Just one thing that no one’s mentioned yet – the opening flashback was a definite nod to the film The Village. It looked like they were Other’s on the Island and suddenly they run out onto the road and nearly get hit by a truck – very similar to the Village.
Ryan – I hope you will be writing your opinion on this episode – it would be a helluva episode to miss out!
When Olivia, the teacher, did the volcano experiment and the island starts to shake….there is a scene that shows images on top of the chalkboard of the intercom in the classroom two dharma symbol images and on the left are all posters (the blue sheets) of greek mathematical philosophers and thinkers..such as pythagoras (like the ones shown…..). I had that booklet of posters. Other thinkers included Newton gravity, ben Franklin electricity….etc…
Pythagoreans…..according to wiki
The organization was in some ways a school, in some ways a brotherhood, and in some ways a monastery. It was based upon Pythagoras’ religious teachings and was very secretive. At first, the school was highly concerned with the morality of society. Members were required to live ethically, love one another, share political beliefs, practice pacifism and vegetarianism, and devote themselves to the mathematics of nature
Ok….get this….I found my original pictures of those posters that i spoke of……it’s called History of Mathematics. 18 Posters by James Greenhaw and illustrated by Lafe Locke (hmmmmm…locke….) J. Weston Walch, Publisher. June 1979.
Re-watched the epi this afternoon, and just noticed that the girl that was with “Goodspeed” (the couple, who came across Roger, newborn Ben, and mother), was also the teacher in the class when the “Hostiles” attack, was that lesson on Volcano’s significant in any way? One other thought I had, the Jacob image that was visible for less than a split second, could there also be some kind of Desmond connection? Just love Lost and I’m so glad that I found this site, I am glad there are other people out there who are as obsessed as I am!
I read most of the posts and I don’t think I saw this theory re-visited… we know Dharma was doing experiments and many times people have thought they were working specifically with those with psychic abilities (which was why they wanted Walt). Some time ago I read a loose theory that “Jacob” was one of the original psychics Dharma was using in their experiments, but he was too powerful and somehow things went amuck…ending in him being disembodied – or maybe traveling around like the “smoke monster.” This might explain his “help me” plea, as he is stuck in a form (or as NO form) he doesn’t want to be.
Some even go farther and say that this dis-embodied Jacob is destined to choose Claire’s baby, Aaron, as his new physical form – based on the psychic predictions Claire was given while she was pregnant. I dunno…sounds as good as other theories I’ve heard, but in the end, they are still just theories!
Jacob is definitely a pirate or something of the sort. He is dressed in colonial clothes and seems to be wearing a white powder wig.