There are spoilers here, if you haven't yet seen "The Man From Tallahassee" so fair warning...

...

OK, still here?  Last night Ben talked about a "box", that had strange and mysterious abilities...

"Let me put it so you'll understand.  Picture a box.  You know something about boxes, don't you John?  What if I told that somewhere on this island there's a very large box, and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in, when you open that box, there it would be.

"What would you say about that, John?"

Uff-Da!  Now, I think its safe to assume that John isn't speaking literally about a "box."  Let's get theoretical and just take that he's speaking figuratively.  That there is indeed something on the island that grants "wishes" for lack of a better term.  That it knows your deepest desires, and will make them come true...

...what does that mean for all of the mysterious events that have happened on the island?

I think that it can explain, well, quite a lot.  Put aside the other questions, like "where'd the box come from?", "who put it there?" all the technical crap.  Just forget about that.  Let's assume that Ben is at least telling the truth, in a way that John might be able to understand.

If this "thing" is peering into the depths of everyone's soul, and showing them (or outright giving them) what they really want...  It can explain quite a bit.  On a lot of depths and levels.  For example...

• Jack.  Jack wants to reconcile with his father.  He sees a vision of his father standing on the beach, and then walks away.
• John Locke.  Wants to walk, voila!  Needs something to believe in, he gets the hatch, and the button, and is shown his new mission to destroy it all?  And his father, oof.  Who do you think brought him there, Locke or Ben?  I think Locke still wants some sort of reconciliation with dad.
  
• Rose.  Wants to be healed, more importantly wants Bernard back.  She gets both.  Coincidence that Bernard is the only "tailie" left alive?
• Bernard.  Wants to be reunited with Rose.  See above.
• Kate.  Wants a pony.  :)  I don't know, but her coming across the horse could mean something.  Wants some stability, and is finding that, whether its with Jack or Sawyer remains to be seen.
  
• Sawyer.  Doesn't know what he wants, I don't think.  We haven't seen him witness any strange vision that I recall.  Maybe that's the source of his continued isolation and
  
• Hurley.  Wants hope, and finds that in Libby (and the van.)  But he's still hung up on the numbers curse, and doesn't think he deserves it.  Libby goes away.  Doesn't explain Dave, though, does it?
  
• Ana Lucia.  Doesn't care if she lives or dies, she's too guilty about her actions back in the states.  Be careful what you wish for?
• Sayid?  Wants to reconcile his past and his guilt over losing Nadia and his actions in the military.  Comes across a familiar gray cat, named Nadia.
  
• Eko.  The big one.  Guilty as sin over his brother, the island provides both the airplane, his brother, and the ultimate penance for his sins.
• Desmond.  Wants to change the past.  Gets a chance.
• Charlie.  Wants respect and a chance to lead a more-or-less normal life, and some responsibility.  He's given Claire and Aaron, a sort of "family" that he can be responsible for.
• Claire.  Wants nothing that I can see but for Aaron to be safe.  Unsure how that plays out but so far its held.
• Sun.  Wants a baby.  Now she's pregnant.  Score!
• Jin.  Wants Sun, was able to reconcile that situation.
• Michael.  Wants desperately off the island for he and Walt, puts his life and reputation on the line for it.  Devotes time to raft construction.  Poof, he's gone.
• Walt.  Ah, Walt's a tough nut to crack.  Being a kid I don't think he knows really what he wants.  But we've seen the polar bears from his comic books come to life.  Maybe some sort of subconcious confusion on the part of this island mystery?
• The "captured" survivors.  Mostly children.  Maybe they just wanted to be safe?  That one's kind of a stretch, I'll admit.
  

Doesn't explain! Here's what I can't figure out.

• Shannon or Boone.  Weren't with us really long enough to figure out exactly what they wanted, or why they were "chosen" to die.  They were an odd pair, and their confuddled story was probably best dropped.
• Rousseau.  After 16 years you'd think island would chime in and deliver *something*.  Unless total solitude was what she was after.
• Ben, Juliet, and the rest of the "Others."  Maybe there's something going on that doesn't allow the island to grant their desires?  Unless they're all so hung up on their research and mission that the island is giving them exactly what they want.
  

Well, that whole thing got me thinking, and I'm sure we'll learn something in the coming weeks that will throw all this in the dumpster, but its a thought.  Feel free to rip me to shreds!

Technorati Tags: LOST, theories, characters, box

Yes I'm still here, and on "vacation" (doing more work around here than I would at work, ain't that just how it goes.)  Tonight's show was a tale about promises, keeping those promises, and about what everyone really wants deep down.

We learned how John Locke wound up in the wheelchair, of course we could probably guess who was involved before.  And more importantly, things just got a little...OK, a lot more surreal on the island....

Well, I have got to say that was another excellent episode, for lots of reasons.  And of course, we learned what the big "hooha" was that's been hyped for a while now.

The title, of course, is French for "by air."  Now you could read that to be related to Claire's rather brilliant rescue plan, or you could go all out to say that it's even how they ended up on the island...

...read on for the recap and what it might mean.  Spoilers as usual...

The Lost Blog writes a compelling piece where they examine the true origins and nature of that rogue survivor, Danielle Rousseau.

Also check the comments for a link to the radio transmission, and one of those details that I'd forgotten about long ago....

Worth checking out!

Link: Who is Danielle Rousseau? - The Lost Blog

Well the Doc seems to have gone off the deep end this time with his weekly foray into the realm of LOST theories and speculation.  Not sure why we're hung up on the purple sky this week. 

Seems pretty straightforward to me that a black hole could cause the purple sky! Come on!

A purple sky is a clue suggesting that spiritual forces with possibly sinister agendas are at work on the island.
HUH? ''Purple sky'' is clearly a reference to the Jimi Hendrix song ''Purple Haze.'' Reportedly, Hendrix said that he got the title of the tune from Night of Light, a science fiction novel by Philip Jose Farmer set on a planet called Dante's Joy where ''spiritual forces are made manifest in the material world,'' according to Wikipedia.
MOREOVER... Hendrix reportedly claimed that the key to understanding the song is the line ''whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me.'' I'm sure Penelope-smitten Desmond and Claire-fixated Charlie can relate.
THEN AGAIN... Isn't the song really about drugs? And don't I sound, like, really high right now? Tune in next week when Doc Jensen will explore the links between Smokey the Monster and Deep Purple's ''Smoke on the Water,'' the novelty tune ''Flying Purple Eater,'' and Prince's ''I Would Die 4 U'' from Purple Rain.

Yeah. Like I said.  Far out, man.  So "Smoke on the Water" isn't about a house going up in flames? Aw, man! Groovy!

Link: Sky Writing | Lost | Doc Jensen | News + Notes | Entertainment Weekly

Technorati Tags: LOST, tv, theories, purple haze, dharma, others

The Great and Powerful Doc provides us more insight, expundiation (yes I made that up), and fan-theories with regards to 'Enter 77.'  Lots of goodies in this one.

The answer, as we all now know, is the real name of Patchy â?? Mikhail
Bakunin, who joins a growing list of characters conspicuously named
after famous philosophers. (Also see: John Locke, Desmond David Hume,
and Rousseau.)

There's also an interesting position with respect to Rousseau and the lineage of Alex...and a just plain oddball theory from the blue.

Link: Let '77' Theories Bloom | Lost (Season 3) | Doc Jensen | TV | Entertainment Weekly

"The Tail Section", "The LOST Fan Blog", and "The Lost Blog" chimed in with the (each slightly different) translation of Mikhail and Klugh's Russian conversation.  It goes something like this:

Klugh: Mikhail. Mikhail! You know what to do.
Mikhail: We still have another way [out].
Klugh: We cannot risk. You know the conditions.
Mikhail: There is another way.
Klugh: They captured us. We will not give (or let, or betray) [unintelligible].
Klugh: You know what to do. It is an order.
Mikhail: We still have another way!
Klugh (in English): Just do it, Mikhail.
Mikhail: Forgive me. (shoots)

The most interesting part of this is, "There IS another way!"  There is?  I wonder what they mean by that.  Another way to what? For what?  Simply so that Klugh doesn't have to die?

There's also some info about that paper that was found in the house, and what's on it.  And some theorizing on who Mikhail actually is.

Just another one of those details we'll have to see about later I guess!

Links: LOST -- The TailSection, The Russian connection - The Lost Blog, Russian Translations

Oh, man.  Somebody recently said that the Lindelof/Cuse penned episodes are the best for getting the story moving along, and it would seem that "Enter 77" was no exception.

I'm still a bit confused, though, as to the "theme" of the flashback this time as it relates to the show.  Usually there is a thematic or conceptual connection between the flashback and the same character on the island.  It didn't seem to work so well this time.

The full spoiler filled recap follows....

OK, now this just popped into my head as I was discovering the focus of tonight's flashback is none other than our friendly neighborhood Iraqi torture-boy-turned-good Sayid.  I'm not even sure this makes sense, and no I've not read any spoilers for tonight's episode, so I'm probably way the hell out there....

• Sayid was involved in the past with Kelvin (remember? The only other DHARMA guy we've actually seen alive to date?) who appeared to be at the time CIA or NSA or something equally insidious.
• Eye-patch guy will be the second (living) card-carrying DHARMA jumpsuit squad member we've seen.  Coincidence?  Maybe.
• Could it be "Uno" and Sayid have had some sort of dealings in the past, either directly or indirectly through Kelvin?  Is "Uno" connected to Kelvin at all?
• How does the glass eye in the "Arrow" hatch, along with the missing film found in the book connect back to "Uno?"

See I told you it didn't make sense.  Just seem a little too (church lady) conveeeenient that Sayid's flashback is during the same episode as our introduction to Patch Adams here.

There's got to be a connection between the three.  Or not.  Looks good on paper though.

No, not that Three Dog Night song, the other one, from last week....

Doc Jensen gives us (yet again) just enough LOST wisdom to keep us foaming rabidly at the mouth.  This guy is good.

DOC JENSEN SAYS: Oh, but who are cares about thematic odes!? ''That ain't no way to have fun,'' as Three Dog Night sang in their hit ''Mama Told Me Not To Come.'' So let's persist in the delusion that Shambala is truly a marker on the road to Lost enlightenment. The Island = ''mystical hidden land,'' possibly a gateway into The Underworld, protected by Cerberus. Dharma = ''evil or amoral conspiracy'' whose faithless ambitions represent a ''negative manipulation'' of this ''Shambala.'' Their plan: to cheat death by sealing up the gates of The Underworld and transplanting souls into new bodies! The Others = ''mystical brotherhood whose members labor for the good of humanity,'' who like the Gnostics believe that humanity needs to accept that death is a natural part of life, and therefore are committed to protecting the power of The Island and stopping Dharma!

I like his poking at Wikipedia.  Sure I've even used it to look into some obscure aspects, and it's really easy to start down an 'idea path' once you get poking.  One idea leads to a search, then you start looking at links, and more links and things all seem to be related....  Then you realize "WTF am I doing? How did I get here? How did I find myself in this beautiful house? With a beautiful wife?" Er. Uh. See what I mean?

Still itching to see "Enter 77" tonight.  Give me some one-eyed four-toed jumpsuited survivor-children-eating DHARMA madness!  With a scoop of Locke on the side!

Link: Piecing it Together | Lost | DOC JENSEN | TV | Entertainment Weekly

Technorati Tags: LOST, tv, doc jensen, three dog night, bullfrog, enter 77, dharma