Lost in Thought: "Recon"

Alright, this post will have less to do with tonight's show per se, but more on some ideas that solidified themselves after my post-show explanation with my friends, Mike, Allison and Dana. It largely consisted of me acting smart and inflating my already-oversized ego. Let me mention a couple of things in the episode and then I want to talk about the bigger ideas in the show.

The first thing that pops out to me, is Widmore's group on the island. It seems as though that they are a separate entity to both Locke's and Jacob's group. Interestingly enough, Widmore's group have set up shop in a manner sort of similar to the Dharma Initiative's approach to security. They have a submarine and are putting up a sonar fence to keep the smoke monster out. I am wondering if Widmore actually has a connection to the Dharma Initiative. Perhaps he was helping them all along as a mole. For those who don't know Alvar Hanso is the head of the Hanso Foundation who funds the Dharma Initiative. Alvar's ancestor is Magnus Hanso who was the captain of the Black Rock. It is possible that Magnus is Alvar if Magnus has the same longevity that Richard has, but that is a different tangent. Anyway, we saw Widmore bidding for the personal diaries of Magnus Hanso and so it might be possible that Widmore is working for or at least with the Dharma Initiative and Alvar Hanso in order help exploit the island for possible good or possibly selfish reasons.

We once again see the use of the mirror in this episode as well as a mostly redeemed Sawyer, but it is not perfect like the other stories we have seen in the other flash-sideways.

This is what I really want to dig into. My new thoughts came from the continual use of mirrors in this season and the possible significance. I am thinking that the flash-sideways is a reflection of what we are seeing on the island. It was not that the bomb created two possible worlds or two timelines, but rather the flash-sideways is a different entity altogether. It could be that the flash-sideways is the result of actions taken on the island that will redeem our lost. Redemption has been an important part of the show since the start and what the flash-sideways maybe are glimpses of a sort of heaven.

One of the older theories of the show back from Season 1 was that the island was purgatory. The writer's dismissed the theory, but perhaps it's not that far off. It is starting to really fit the bill as it draws closer to the end. Perhaps it is not purgatory per se, but rather a place that represents reality. There have been a lot of parallels and metaphors comparing places to spiritual realms. For instance, Christian referred to Australia as hell in season 1 in his conversation with Sawyer. Locke referred to the island as a place for a second chance. Los Angeles is known as the city of angels. The passengers of flight 815 crashed in between hell and heaven. What I'm starting to think is that the island really is a place of redemption and that our lost are going to go through the last trials and do something that allows them to redeem themselves as a community.

I think the best way to describe it would be to use Christian spirituality to explain it. In a lot of regards, what we do in this world is going to determine what our afterlife looks like. Our eternal selves' fates are linked in with what we do here in the reality of this dark world. Locke called the island a place for a second chance, but that does not mean that the second chance is easy. It harsh and difficult and deadly. In the same way, the characters are facing challenges and harsh circumstances not to save their lives on the island, but rather their other selves, their eternal selves who are off the island in Los Angeles. The characters will face an apocalypse of sorts where they may have to lose their lives to literally save them.

Now, I do not claim that Lost is a Christian show by any stretch, but it is interesting how the show seems to head that way. Perhaps, it's more of an agnostic approach to heaven and the afterlife. I don't know.

I am starting to think that the other thing that is being shown is that salvation for the folks are not going to be individually saved, but rather as a community. The characters are going to be dependent on each other in order to bring about a communal salvation. In the flash-sideways, we see this happening as characters are coming into contact with each other and are depending on each other.

Finally, I am beginning to wonder about the Monster and Jacob. I am beginning to think that the conflict is less of a good versus evil kind of thing, but rather opposing ideologies. Back in the first season, it refers to backgammon being the oldest game in the world. One side dark, one side light. It is always implied that dark is evil and light is good. But perhaps what we have are merely two opposing sides. What makes white team good in backgammon and what makes the black team evil? Nothing. It's merely two opposing sides.

Maybe that is where Widmore, Hanso and the Dharma Initiative come in. Perhaps it is a third group that is going to come in and be the true evil in the show. What would make them evil? It may have to do with the concept of control because the initiative was all about discovering how to control and change the end of the world. Perhaps, it is the idea that they need to know everything that marks them as the villains in the story. In the Lord of the Rings, Saruman is considered evil because he was wanting all the knowledge in the world when it is something outside of human grasp. There is nothing wrong with knowledge and power, but when you need to have power beyond your means or drive for knowledge that only God knows, you step outside your place as a person and claim divinity and you will ultimately begin to be better than other people and God himself.

It may be that the two sides have been warring over the wrong thing the whole time. Both have good intentions, but both are missing the point. I still think that Jacob is the closest thing to a divine character and knows the nature of people and is working towards an end that will save the world. But even his followers don't know what he is doing and are getting caught up in the wrong fights. Hmm, sounds familiar doesn't it?