Theme Quotes:
"I can't do it alone."
"It's a leap of faith."
I'm afraid I missed most of this, because something more important was on (Angels 5, Yankees 3), but...
Why didn't Jack ask Desmond how he planned to get off the island?
Becuase Jack knows that Desmond is either stupid, or crazed from his long isolation.
Well, it’s nice to get a few answers finally. But it still largely makes no sense.
It’s interesting that during Dr. Candle’s introductory film, he mentioned zoology as one of the commune’s areas of study, and when he did, we saw a shot of two polar bears. I guess now we have some idea of where the two polar bears we saw in Pilot and in Special came from. Were they genetically engineered to be able to survive in the tropics?
Jack is absolutely right. Desmond acts as if that movie with Dr. Candle will somehow show him what will happen if the code is not maintained every 108 minutes, but Candle never indicates what will happen if they don’t! Desmond is pathologically stupid, and so is Locke! And so what if there’s a big electromagnet behind that concrete wall? So what? What does that prove? And at the end, Locke says that Jack has to press the “execute” button because “it’s a two-person job.” Um, yeah, Locke, it’s a two person job because two people allow for one to take a shift while the other sleeps. It ‘s not a two-person job because one has to enter the code and the other has to press the “execute” button. This is just stupid. Then Locke says he’ll take the first shift. Excuse me? Just how long does Locke plan on staying there doing that? Is that going to become his new permanent home? Does he honestly expect Kate, Sayid, Hurley and Jack to stay there too pressing those buttons?
Mike, Sawyer and Jin’s plot thread with Ana Lucia and the Others was far more interesting. Ana taking the gun and then having Emeka pulling her out was certainly surprising. Have they joined the Others? Are they passing themselves off as such to survive, until they escape with the Mike, Sawyer and Jin?
It ‘s not a two-person job because one has to enter the code and the other has to press the “execute” button.
Locke didn't insist that Jack press the "execute" key because no one else could. It was to force him to really consider the "What if it is true?" question and admit that there might be something there. If not quite taking the "leap of faith," at least being honest about the limitations of his power and knowledge.
All three episodes so far have been pushing the buttons of the Jack/Locke relationship. The flashbacks of Jack showed a chink in his anti-supernatual armor, those of Locke showed him when he was closed off and unwilling to take the "leap of faith. Jack has been calling Locke by his first name "John" this season, emphasizing the connection, since legally his own name is probably also John. The writers probably missed an angle though. Desmond should probably have been named Sean, instead.
Mike, Sawyer and Jin’s plot thread with Ana Lucia and the Others was far more interesting. Ana taking the gun and then having Emeka pulling her out was certainly surprising. Have they joined the Others? Are they passing themselves off as such to survive, until they escape with the Mike, Sawyer and Jin?
I don't think that they are "passing themselves off" as the Others. That was just an assumption Jin made and Sawyer and Michael accepted. It is more likely that their treatment of the trio is because they aren't yet sure that those three aren't part of the Others.
The Hanso Foundation (and its Dharma Initiative) has its own website. Most of the links are classified and cannot be accessed, but a copy of the orientation film for station 3 (the Swan) can be found. (Presumably other hidden links will eventually also appear.)
Hmm, I'm curious as to whether the film was spliced or not. It seems that there are parts missing that can not be accounted for just by jumped frames. Specifically, the part around what seems to be the admonition not to use the computer for any purpose other than the stated one. And there are strange edits into closeups where you don't see his lips while he is talking. Something about that film really creeps me out, like the one shown in "The Ring".
The assignment is 540 days, which is 108 * 5.
I thought Hanso looked just like Leslie Nielsen. Kind of took the seriousness away from the moment.
The Dharma symbol has all the classic trigrams on it, but not in the traditional order.
I'm willing to bet that Locke's new friend (with the anger management issues and poor driving skills) will have something to do with the car accident that puts him in a wheelchair.
It has to be very difficult to gauge how hard to hit someone with a big block of wood without killing them, and just knock them out for a short time.
ScottN: Why didn't Jack ask Desmond how he planned to get off the island?
Did Desmond indicate he was getting off of the island? I thought that he just was trying to get as far away from the hatch as he could.
Luigi Novi: Desmond acts as if that movie with Dr. Candle will somehow show him what will happen if the code is not maintained every 108 minutes, but Candle never indicates what will happen if they don’t! Desmond is pathologically stupid, and so is Locke! And so what if there’s a big electromagnet behind that concrete wall? So what? What does that prove?
As Desmond points out to Jack, he, and you, is either very right or very wrong. It comes down to whether or not you're willing to take that chance. Jack obviously is willing to bet that if the countdown reaches zero, nothing happens. Locke isn't. You apparently wouldn't push the button because there's no evidence that anything would happen, aside from the video hinting that something bad would happen and Desmond's own experience with the guy that was already there. After all that they've seen and experienced on that island, Locke's willing to believe that something will happen. Does this make him stupid? I don't think so. This is the guy who was paralyzed and can now walk, saw that entire wispy monster, found this research facility in the middle of the island, had a crazy dream about a plane then found that plane in the middle of the island, etc. He's seen a lot of weird, unexplainable stuff so I don't think that it's too much of a stretch for him to believe that the hatch is capable of something catastrophic.
TomM: I don't think that they are "passing themselves off" as the Others. That was just an assumption Jin made and Sawyer and Michael accepted. It is more likely that their treatment of the trio is because they aren't yet sure that those three aren't part of the Others.
That's how I read it.
Something I forgot to note: Helen shares a name with the phone sex operator from Walkabout. It seems that after Locke loses Helen, he missed her so much that he requested an operator with the same name.
Jack seemed to be on the verge of breaking down when Desmond asked him about Sarah. For some reaon, up until now I thought they'd divorced, but now I'm leaning toward she passed on. There's absolutely no evidence to support this. It's just a feeling.
Or, he asked that operator to go by the name Helen.
Or he just calls her Helen, and she goes along with it.
Or it is Helen!! But then, with that voice he might have called her "Leela" instead...
My friend Michelle claims on her page at myspace.com that:
The shark that was in the water had the Dharma logo on its fin but it was not the one with the swan on it. Now could that have been from another station on the island since the Swan was 3 of 6??? Hmmm....
Quite likely. After all there are seven* different projects in the Dharma Initiative, and of all of them, electro-magnetic research is the least likely to require laboratory animals.
*The seven projects are:
I wonder if perhaps Desmond knew of a second hatch on the island and that was where he was going. But then why would he have needed to load up on supplies.
I had some rather negative reactions to this episode.
The biggest problem with the episode was all the mumbo jumbo about the Hanso Project. It seemed to be an amalgamation of several 70's cults and communes (the History channel sometimes runs shows on them). I didn't like the presentation of the cult; it was presented from a very right-wing point of view. The Hanso Project seemed to be a vaguely liberal pro-science and pro-environmental group, so naturally it had to be depicted as sinister. It's even funded by a European liberal (presumably an atheist too). Such a depiction falls right in line with all the FOX pundits who almost nightly shout their "blame it on European liberals" propaganda. Why is a liberal pro-science group villified? Why not a right-wing group such as Jim Jones' religious cult which killed hundreds? I found the right-wing injection of politics into the show to be disgusting (Rousseau had already been depicted in a sexist manner).
It really was absurd nonsense that for the past 25 years, someone has been entering that code on the computer every 180 minutes. Please, that computer would have broke down long ago. The counter with the flip-down numbers looked more like it was from the 50's than the 1980's. I sympathised with Jack for feeling that all the entering the code stuff was nonsense. No wonder he had no desire to watch the orientation film again with Locke.
As for Jack, I thought the revelation that he married his disabled patients to be one of the more interesting character revelations so far.
The background story on Locke seemed redundant. The casting of Peg Bundy as his girlfriend was mildly distracting. One moment really rang false. When she threw his keys over the gate, it was hugs time. Just about anyone would have become really pissed off, but not good old Locke.
As I was beginning to become rather too disappointed with this episode, the Ana Lucia twist enlivened it.
Please, that computer would have broke down long ago.
Why? That was an Apple ][, no moving parts to break down. I could see the monitor going, but why would the computer go down? Especially if it's not being power cycled (which is the most taxing thing for a computer).
Rona, what in the episode indicated that the Hanso Project or its funder were liberal?
And how is Rousseau's depiction "right-wing"?
I could see the monitor living on, you may not see the cursor to well, but thats the only portion of the screen that is showing. Most of the phosphor would be used in 25 years I would think, thus it would be really dim, but when entering the numbers, you would probably see the numbers quite easily.
the old old computers ran so cool, that they should work for quite some time, especially with no moving parts. And man do I love the look of the old green screen's of old apple ][ computers. brings me back to my days in grade school and junior high school
One of the reasons I found the ep disappointing is what the shows creators have said over the summer; they admitted that they're making up a lot as they go along. Other shows, such as Desperate Housewives, already had their season arc worked out before filming began. The Hanso Project could have led to some interesting stories. So far, it looks like a dead-end storyline that the show might abandon. I wonder if the show's producers will move in a different direction if they feel the viewers want something else.
Also, I was still hoping for a realistic explanation for the island's events. I don't want to see the show turn into another "Fantasy Island" and become increasingly absurd and unrealistic.
If what you say about them making it up as they go along is true, then it would explain why I've found the season to be so disappointing so far. Everything in the first season looked as if it was part of a well-conceived master plan. Making it up as you go along is okay if you have the writing chops to make it look otherwise; if you don't, it's going to look like you're making it up a.y.g.a., and the result is disappointing.
Could have led? We've known about the Hanso Project for two whole episodes. Stories tend to develop over time, especially in the case of "Lost".
The interview in the latest TV Guide does indicate that they have quite a bit mapped out. Not all of it, but some details.
JoshM: The interview in the latest TV Guide does indicate that they have quite a bit mapped out. Not all of it, but some details.
If you have access to the DVDs of Season 1, there's an interesting bit on DVD 7 (a bonus disc) that features interviews with J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelhof, among others. They state that they've mapped this out over 5 or 6 years. (And no, there's no spoilers, just commentary on S1.)
Rona, I'm sorry, but are we watching the same show? Where did you get any of this from?
1. "The Hanso Project seemed to be a vaguely liberal pro-science and pro-environmental group, so naturally it had to be depicted as sinister."
Where did you see that it was liberal? If this was a 70s-era project, my first impression would be that it stemmed from some US government think-tank type project, like some DARPA would run. And where did it say it was "pro-environmental" and "pro-science"?
2. "It's even funded by a European liberal (presumably an atheist too)."
It's funded by a European. Where are you getting the idea that he's liberal and atheist?
3. "I found the right-wing injection of politics into the show to be disgusting (Rousseau had already been depicted in a sexist manner)."
WHAT RIGHT-WING POLITICS? We don't know ANYTHING about this Hanso project except that they've set up shop on this island!! And please, explain how Rousseau has been depicted in a sexist manner. I think the writers have done a good job of creating both strong and weak female AND male characters. Come on, Kate will carry a stick of dynamite but Hurley won't? That's hardly sexist.
Usually, recaps of prior episodes will use only material that appeared in those episodes, but in the recap of the previous episode's closing scene, the shot of who Jin thought were the "Others" is different from the one that was actually used at the end of Adrift.