My Serious, Logical Thoughts on The Incident parts 1 and 2

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The long awaited “incident” episode first mentioned in the episode Orientation in season two. That single episode has become a foundation because many things refer back to it such as electromagnetism, polar bears and of course the incident.

A FIST FULL OF JACOB
Jacob doesn’t seem to age as he looks the same a hundred years ago as he does today. Note the opening sequence. As Jacob talks with the as yet unnamed man, they watch a ship in the distance with sails. This ship is undoubtedly the Black Rock and the unnamed man says that he brought the ship here and that it would be the same again. Why does this man want to kill Jacob so much? Is it because Jacob forcefully holds him on the island? Why can’t he just kill Jacob himself? We may have a slight clue from the episode where Ben comes into the bedroom of Widmore. When Widmore talks about Ben killing him Ben says “We both know I can’t do that.” Is the reason Ben can’t kill Widmore the same reason this guy can’t kill Jacob? Who is Jacob and how long has he been on the island? Why doesn’t he or Richard age?
When Ben brought Locke to meet Jacob he brought him to the cabin. The man we glimpsed in that episode looked nothing like Jacob. He was an older man with a scraggly beard. There was an old man who lived in a shoe and his name was Jacob. Jacob does not live in the cabin. I wonder. With Ben’s admission that he has never seen Jacob, was he taking Locke to Jacob at all? Was someone else in the cabin besides Jacob. When the plane crash survivors show up at the cabin, they notice that a barrier of what looks like mud around the cabin has been breached. Does this mean that whoever was in the cabin got out? Who was it? We also saw this barrier when Ben and Locke visited the cabin together but there was no breach in it. I would guess that the person in the cabin was the unnamed person we saw in the first scene on the beach, but if so then why is it that the plane crash survivors are bringing the body of Locke to this man? It makes much more sense that they would bring it to Jacob. But if they are bringing it to Jacob then why not go directly to the shoe? Why stop at the cabin?
Jacob seems to be everywhere in the past lives of our heroes. We see him with Sawyer when Sawyer was a kid. We see him with Kate when she was little. But why does he visit them? Is it because he knows their destiny in the future or is it because he travels back in time to visit them in the past knowing some day they will come to the island in the future? Did Jacob choose them to come to the island or does he know that they will in the future? We get an answer to this question in the first scene when the unnamed man states that Jacob brought the ship (Black Rock) here. Jacob must have the power to bring people to the island. He also has the power to leave the island at will apparently as we saw him in the cab with Hurley. This was a fairly recent event so somehow he got back to the island after talking with Hurley on the mainland. Notice that Jacob gives Hurley the guitar case. This is the one Hurley clings to in the water after he is abruptly transported to the 1970s. The reason is because this is replacing Charlie’s guitar case so that the 316 flight will look more like the 815 flight.
So how did Jacob get back to the island so quickly after talking to Hurley? There is no evidence that Jacob was on flight 316 so how did he get back? It almost seems like Jacob has the power to teleport on and off the island. If so then why doesn’t he teleport away before Ben stabs him. Also it seems odd that you could kill Jacob at all. I guess he’s not exactly like the highlander.

INCIDENT
As predicted by many fans the hand of Peter Chang was injured in the incident. Though most people thought it was his entire arm that got ripped off. Again this goes back to the Orientation video when Chang does not seem to use one of his arms. This scene was pretty exciting, but I was very sad to see Juliet go. Don’t worry you can see her in a new series called V premiering this fall. It pretty much guarantees she won’t be back as a major character next year.
So what you have all been waiting for. Did blowing up the bomb change the past? And the answer is ….

….

No! Blowing up the bomb is just part of what was supposed to happen. Juliet is for sure dead. Everybody else should be ok. Let’s hope the bomb was buried deep enough when it went off that it didn’t hurt anybody on land above. This may be true but you have to wonder if the explosion will cause the land above it to implode. The reason why the past cannot be changed is because if it was then this show would really stink. Imagine the next episode showing flight 815 landing in L.A. and they never get to the island. That would pretty much be it right? Nowhere to go after that.
I though it was crazy that first Sawyer tries to stop Jack then help Jack just because of what Juliet said. That was a 180 if I ever saw one. Though their reasoning was sound, the science was wrong because you can’t change the past. Yes, I know Faraday said you could, but he was wrong. The past is fixed. Anything you do to try to change the past just becomes part of what already happened. We have seen no evidence that the past can be changed.
The scary part is that when Sun confronts Richard about her husband and friends in the 1970s Richard says that he watched them all die. This does not bode well. Is he speaking of the series finale in which everybody in the past dies? It would be unthinkable to see Jack die so soon when we have another season left.

WHAT IS THAT SYMBOL?
The statue is holding an Egyptian symbol in one hand. This symbol was also around the neck of a DHARMA member who was killed by THE OTHERS when Sawyer and company first arrived in the 1970s. They managed to save the wife of this guy. This may imply that the statue was intact during the 1970s or that DHARMA has seen the symbol somewhere else on the island such as the temple. Or of course it could also be an amazing coincidence but I don’t think so. There is also the slight possibility that DHARMA itself is somehow based on either Egyptian religion or its past because in the hatch when the counter ran down a set of four Egyptian hieroglyphics appeared. The same hieroglyphics also appear on the temple, but the connection between the symbols, DHARMA and the temple has never been revealed. The DHARMA people don’t seem to be religious folk. They seem to be scientists not religious leaders. Perhaps in a future episode this will be one of the twists where we see that DHARMA actually is based in an ancient religion from Egypt. Another idea is that those people who are involved in this mystical religion are drawn to the island somehow. When Jacob is spinning the tapestry at the beginning of part one, he puts ancient Egyptian and also Greek symbols in it. Is Jacob that old? In the cabin we also see part of a tapestry knifed to a wall. On the tapestry is a picture of the Egyptian god Taweret.

IS IT ALL BLACK AND WHITE WITH YOU?
The dark versus light theme first introduced in season one makes a subtle appearance here in the first scene where we see Jacob in white and an unnamed man in black. Based on what happens at the end one gets the feeling that Jacob in white represents the good guys and the man in black (not Johnny Cash!) represents the bad guys. This theme has been revisited several times throughout the course of the series. Not really sure what it means. There is Ben’s replay to Michael when he asks who are you people. “We’re the good guys” Ben replies. When Lapidus asks Bram who they are he says “the good guys”.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER
Perhaps the island is neutral territory – a testing ground in a conflict between ancient gods. This theory would satisfy the light versus dark theme and at the same time explain why the man in black cannot kill the man in white. He can’t because the island is neutral ground. Similar to “holy ground” seen in the Highlander series. But there is a loophole. Someone who is not a god can kill one of the gods on the island. Ergo Ben kills Jacob. The smoke monster is a creation of the gods designed to protect the temple from moral impurity. Anyone found to be “bad” can be killed by the smoke monster. This would also explain how the man in black can masquerade as Locke. Because he is a god. So who are these gods? They could be Ra, Hippophus or any of the ancient Egyptian gods or perhaps the Greek gods like Appollo, Zeus and so forth. This theory has the added benefit of hearkening back to a Star Trek episode called “Who Mourns for Adonis” in which the Star Trek crew meets the real Apollo. And as an even greater benefit this would tie in the Apollo candy bars! Note the scene when Jacob meets Jack. Jack is buying an Apollo bar. I believe that nothing on LOST is an accident and that includes the names of candy bars. Remember in season one when Sawyer read a book called a Wrinkle in Time. We didn’t have time travel in season one and now look where we are!
By gods I don’t mean God the creator of the universe, but these are humans who have evolved over time with special powers that make them seem like gods to ordinary people. Think of the TV show “Heroes” on NBC. The idea was also used in the movie Hancock. And now these beings have a disagreement with each other. One group believes that ordinary humans are redeemable despite all their flaws. Another group believes that ordinary humans are unredeemable and should be disposed of. The island was created to be a neutral zone, a testing ground and a place of worship. The gods bring humans there to worship them, and share with them some of their powers. They want to test mankind to see if we as a species are redeemable. Think Next Generation Episode “All Good Things”. The good gods have brought people to the island for centuries trying to prove their point but it always fails. Humanity always reverts to their most basic side. When you see the two men on the beach at the beginning they discuss how this always fails. In the distance we see a ship coming to the island with more people. It will be another experiment that will fail. THE OTHERS who are on the island today are people brought to the island by Jacob to be part of his experiment. They are the followers of Jacob.
The electromagnetic anomaly may be a power source of the gods. The time travel room was built by ancient peoples who worshipped the gods on the island. The ability to time travel was provided by the gods. They also built the statue. The statue is Egyptian goddess Taweret.

ROSE AND BERNARD
It was great to see them again. I thought they might be hiding out. By the way, nice cabin they made all by themselves. How do they get their food?

OTHER STUFF

Anyone notice how Sayid seems to enjoy shooting people? Just an observation.
What happened to the rest of the statue? Is Ben lying when he says he doesn’t know? Yes, probably.
Why do the new folks from flight 316 ask the question what lies in the shadow of the statue? It makes you think they are part of a secret organization. Obviously they have been to the island before and they know about Richard. We see Llana speaking to Jacob when she is in the hospital. Jacob asks for her help and she says yes.
One of the DHARMA members is named Horace which is also the name of the Egyptian god.
The smoke monster in the form of Alex told Ben to do everything Locke said. But that is not really Locke! So even the smoke monster seems to be fooled by this ruse.
In flashbacks Jacob touches Saywer, Kate, Sayid, Sun, Jin, Hurley and John Locke. When he touches John he seems to come back from the dead, but not necessarily so. Notice that each person Jacob touches returns to the island.
Jacob appeared when Nadia was killed and played a part in her death by distracting the couple. Or was he saving Sayid?
There is a flashback to a young Juliet but Jacob does not appear.
If Ben lied about Jacob being in the cabin they why the place erupt due to an invisible force when Locke lit the lamp?
When Sun finds the ring with DS on it. It’s Charlie’s Drive Shaft ring. They got the name from their ancestor Dexter Stratton.
There is another biblical reference when Ben refers to Locke as Moses.
What did Jacob mean at the end when he said “They’re coming”. He may have meant the other gods.
The whispers we have been hearing on the island since season one are the voices of the gods talking to each other.

My Serious, Logical Thoughts on Follow the Leader

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Refers to Locke as the new leader of the OTHERS and also refers to the OTHERS as they blindly follow Jacob even without seeing him.

YOU’RE DA BOMB

The last time I saw a bomb in a temple was in the movie Beneath the Planet of the Apes. That did not end so well. I wish that Jack had asked Richard about the hieroglyphics on the stone supports in the temple. So the plan then is to detonate the bomb and destroy the electromagnetic anomaly thus altering the future. The problem with this is that when you try to do that your actions simply become part of the future you already know. Just ask Sayid. He thought he changed things by killing Ben. However Ben survived and thanks to Sayid became a permanent member of the OTHERS. Maybe the only reason Ben is Ben is because of Sayid.

Perhaps when Jack attempts to use the bomb to destroy the anomaly he actually causes it. Or an even more likely explanation is that his plan fails or he is too late. Remember when Desmond was in the hatch, and he turned the key that blew up the anomaly? Well, what he could have been blowing up was Jughead the very bomb we see in this episode and have seen before. So the bomb is detonated by Desmond destroying the anomaly but it is too late to save Oceanic 815 from crashing. Also does anyone really want to see the past five seasons negated ala Quantum-Leap style? I think not.

BEN DOES HE EVER SPEAK THE TRUTH?

Ben tells so many lies it’s hard to tell when he is speaking the truth. When he tells Richard “Why do you think I tried to kill him” he is implying that he knew Locke was going to be trouble as the new leader of the OTHERS. But wasn’t the reason because Locke had to be dead on the plane to take the place of the father of Jack who was also dead on the original flight? It looks more like Ben is trying to get on Richard’s good side. He has done this just recently with Caesar. He got on his good side and spoke badly about Locke but then he killed Caesar after stealing his gun. And we see Ben talking with Locke and acting like he is all on his side and if Jacob wants to help reunite him with his friends he’ll help.

THE INCREDIBLE MISTER ALPERT

When Richard comments that there is something different about Locke, Locke responds with “I have a purpose now”. So why does Locke suddenly want to kill Jacob? His comments to the OTHERS that they are all taking orders from a man they have never seen implies that he is trying to rescue them from some kind of man whom they blindly follow. Who is this Jacob really? Does he really have their best interests at heart? What is his goal?

There is a striking similarity between this situation and the Twilight Zone episode Old Man in the Cave (1963). In this episode a group of people who have survived a nuclear war take directions from an unseen man in a cave. There is a mediator between the man in the cave and the people. Only one guy who ever goes into the cave to talk to the man. Then he comes out and tells the people what the old man said. The Old man says not to eat the food they have. The people eat the food anyway and die. At the end of the episode we find out that the old man in the cave is a computer. Richard Alpert sounds a lot like this mediator guy since he seems to be the only person who knows how to find Jacob. Ben says that Richard has been at this job a long time. But how long? Can you say four-toed statue? Richard may have been alive back then when the statue was built. He was granted immortality by the island to serve the island kind of like an island priest. He may be thousands of years old.

Notice the shock on the face of Ben when Locke states that Ben has never seen Jacob. Ben does not contradict him and says nothing. The last time Ben and Locke confronted Jacob together Ben certainly acted like he was talking to someone in a chair while Locke saw no one. Then Jacob spoke but only Locke could hear him. Ben heard nothing. Jacob said “Help me” to Locke. We got just a glimpse of Jacob. He was an older man with a gray beard dressed in shabby clothes.

The statement of Locke that he wants to kill Ben seems surprising and contradictory. After all was it not Jacob who chose Locke to be the new leader? Jacob or the island? I thought the two were synonymous. One interpretation of the “help me” statement from Jacob to Locke is that this is a plea for Locke to kill him. That would explain a lot. Perhaps Jacob is being kept prisoner by the island or Richard and the only way out for Jacob is to die. After all, have you ever seen Jacob outside of that shack he lives in? It could be his prison cell.

AWKWARD

On the sub La Fleur is handcuffed in the same room with two women he was slept with.

I WATCHED THEM ALL DIE

Richard makes the comment that he saw Jack, Hurley and Kate die. That doesn’t sound good at all so let’s hope he is wrong. Kate ends up on the sub with Sawyer and Juliet so she seems to be getting away. In order for Richard to see her die she would have to return to the island. How is that going to happen? Will the sub have a mechanical problem and want to turn back? Also did anybody notice that Lafleur, Juliet and Kate were conscious for the sub journey? Always before when people were in the sub they had to be unconscious. Recall Juliet’s first ride when she drank the knockout juice and also that is how Hurley, Jack and Kate were able to infiltrate DHARMA because nobody on the boat saw them because they were all asleep. Jack and Hurley are still on the island so he could still see them die. So how are we going to get out of this dilemma? Because we can’t have Jack die. There are possibilities:

• Richard saw a large group of people killed and assumed they all died. This could happen if the bomb goes off and he assumes they are nearby and they are not.
• Richard was told to lie in the future about what really happened to Jack, Hurley and Kate for some reason. Recall Richard takes directions from Locke about how to deal with the other time-traveling Locke who appears. Could he not also take direction from other time travelers? But why would Jack and company want to lie about what happened to them? Because they don’t want anyone coming after them. They think it is too dangerous.

So take heart. Jack and stuff might still be alive in the past and not be killed as Richard says.

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME

Hey anybody wonder what happened to Bernard and Rose? Last we saw of them they were time flashing with everybody else. Would they not have time flashed to the 1970s with DHARMA. Here are my ideas where they are:

• They are dead
• They time-flashed to the 1970s but hid out with the hostiles instead of DHARMA
• They time-flashed to the 1970s but hid out on their own

WHAT ABOUT ETHAN?

Is Ethan who is a baby on the sub? Since they evacuated all non-essential personnel that would include Ethan. But we know Ethan will be on the island in the future. This is a strong hint that this sub is not going anywhere. It must be coming right back. The hostiles are fond of stealing children so they must steal him at some point in the future.

Compasses don't work on the island. It looks like Locke has forgotten about that and also his statement to Sayid that he no longer needs a compass.

I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
What is your theory on where Bernard and Rose are? Post!

Q