On free will, predictability and conning
Conning, or manipulating someone into doing something by making them think it's their idea, is obviously a huge theme in LOST. It happens frikkin all the time, not just when Sawyer's around. And of course, the ultimate in long cons is Jacob's scheme to get everyone to the island--he works on this long con for the characters' entire lives until they reach the island.
Essential to the success of a con is the knowledge that the person being conned will act predictably; e.g., do A to them and they will do B. So Jacob knew that while the people he was following through their lives (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, etc.) were broken people, often stuck in ruts or vicious cycles, they would act predictably, much like every piece of matter in Newtonion/class…
The truth behind "Flashes Before Your Eyes"
"Flashes Before Your Eyes," the episode where we find out what happened to Desmond when he turned the failsafe key, is probably the most multi-layered episode within the first three seasons. I've spotted tons of clues, but I don't have the knowledge to see all their little hidden meanings. In this blog post I list the references I found in the episode and try to guess at what they mean. I would appreciate your help (and BalkOfFame and Mystimus, I'm talking to you) figuring out what this all means for the broader structure of super-meaning that is LOST. Here goes:
- 1 Charlie's saving grace
- 2 The color red
- 3 Similarities to Flash Sideways
- 4 The interview
- 5 Eternal recurrence and changing things
- 6 Donovan
- 7 Eloise - "Never done this before, have you?"
- 8 C…
Fiendishly clever clues
So I'm watching the whole series again, and I've got to tell you--now that I know to look out for them, the little clues and double entendres are agonizing. Here are just a few examples:
John Locke works for a box company. Boxes are a huge theme in all of JJ Abrams' work and especially in LOST. First we have Rousseau's music box, then Shannon mentions the plane's black box, then of course there's the "box" somewhere on the island which Ben says would give you whatever you wished for or something. Then of course, there was that emotional episode where Sayid was being tortured by his former torture victim in the flashback, and she tells him about the cat she rescued from a box full of fireworks. I'm pretty sure that, given this show's abu…
Eloise is wrong about everything
Isn't Eloise supposed to be the time policewoman who knows everything before it happens?
In "Flashes Before Your Eyes," when Desmond is talking to Eloise before the scaffolding falls on the guy with red sneakers, he tells her that he's going to spend the rest of his life with Penny. Eloise responds, "No, Desmond, you won't" and goes on about how the only great thing he'll ever do is push that button. But we know this is wrong. He does spend the rest of his life with Penny. Contrary to what Eloise insists, Desmond does choose his own path. Not that his actions turn out to contradict Eloise (she says that it's his path to go to the island and push the button, and he never undoes this). But why is she wrong?
Anyone have a clue about who E…
Love, Actually
Did Lost make references to Love Actually? I noticed some similarities:
Toward the end, many of the main characters happened to meet up at a concert that until that moment the audience didn't know was the same concert everyone was talking about.
At that concert, the song "Catch a Falling Star and Put it in Your Pocket" was sung as the main song. This was also featured significantly in Lost (sung by Claire and Kate, and even becoming part of the score).
The guy who was in love with Keira Knightley gave her a message in a very similar fashion to that used by Juliet in Lost--holding up boards with the message on them and dropping them to reveal the next one. And, hang on, Keira Knightley's name was Juliet.
A fading rockstar (Bill Knighy or, on…