Lost Blogging
By Alternative Universe Thoreau in 2004 and This Universe Thoreau in 2010
What to say? If nothing else, we finally know that the smoke monster is a malevolent and manipulative entity with an agenda. However, the more we try to work this into the story that’s been established thus far, the less sense it makes. For instance, the Others apparently followed Ben and revered Jacob, yet they also had a way to summon the smoke monster (recall what Ben did when the mercenaries came to his town and killed his daughter). In the religious worldview of the Others, the smoke monster seemed to be some sort of figure who renders judgment on sinners (recall that Ben went back to the Island to be judged for his sins by the smoke monster in the Temple). Yet we now know that the smoke monster is a malevolent creature who has plotted against Jacob, their revered spiritual figure. This confuses me. Perhaps the full nature of the smoke monster is something that Jacob has never revealed to his people, for whatever reason. If so, it’s a pretty closely-held secret.
Why am I writing this blog post? It’s 2004, and all I know about Lost is that it’s a pilot that was never picked up by ABC. I think some of these actors have a lot of potential and interesting backstories, and I’d love to see some of them do stuff together. Harold Perrineau was good in the Matrix sequels, even though the last sequel had a bad storyline. I hope he does a lot more sci-fi.
Moreover, when Hurley tells the boss at the Temple that Jacob is dead, everyone in the Temple seems to realize that this means that their enemy is coming. Do they know it’s the smoke monster? Do they know that the smoke monster is also the Man in Black? On top of that, the boss dude at the Temple seems to have a pretty close relationship with Jacob, or at least he knows what to expect in messages from Jacob. Ben, OTOH, was dangled on a string, getting Jacob’s messages through the intermediary of Richard Alpert. Previous to this, the hierarchy seemed to be Jacob at the top, Richard as the intermediary, and Ben the leader in day-to-day life. Now we have this leader at the Temple, somebody who seems closer to Jacob than Ben, but he also leads a group of Others that includes some Others that we’ve seen before (e.g. the abducted Cindy). So, what gives? Was Ben only the leader outside of the Temple?
Anyway, I hear that they’ve recently revived the old 1980’s TV series Battlestar Galactica. Originally I wasn’t going to get into it, but maybe it’s worth checking out. I’m getting kind of tired of 24. Season 3 was a let-down, with a poorly-constructed storyline, and I hear rumors that season 4 is going to be very right-wing to jive with the upcoming election. I’m tuning that out, and giving BSG a shot. Well, gotta go to my Howard Dean meeting. I still can’t believe they nominated him, but I think he has a shot. Then, back to thesis writing. I’m so glad I switched from theory to experiment.
Comment by max —
February 4, 2010 @ 4:36 am
Wow! Monster trolling! Bravo, sir, bravo.
max
['O what savage heart beats beneath yonder doohickey?']
Comment by David —
February 4, 2010 @ 1:22 pm
You’re overlooking the Obama allegory,in which the “man in black”(clearly suggestive of a black man)poses as a messianic figure and lies about who he is (a shout out to the birthers) while promising to bring transparency to the island government, then immediately compromises the island’s health care plan and escalates its war.
Comment by 2004 Alternative Universe Thoreau —
February 4, 2010 @ 1:26 pm
Who is Obama? Is he some sort of politician?
Hey, on a different note, since my 2010 counterpart from a different universe keeps talking about some “Island”, is this related to that Michael Bay movie “The Island” coming out next summer with Dominic Monaghan and Evangeline Lilly?
Comment by 2004 Alternative Universe Thoreau —
February 4, 2010 @ 1:29 pm
Wait, maybe this has to do with the 2000 film “Castaway” where Terry O’Quinn is stranded on an island for a few years after his Fedex plane crashes?
Comment by brucedene —
February 4, 2010 @ 5:16 pm
I envy you. “Lost” ss so much easier to watch in your universe. No Temple, no Tailies, no boat out there, no Widmore — just Seven Stranded Castaways whose only job is to push a button and navigate improbable interpersonal relationships.
Comment by Glaivester —
February 4, 2010 @ 6:44 pm
If you can find an alternate universe Thoreau who exists in a universe where JMS’s Crusade wasn’t cancelled after half a season, can he tell me whether the rumored plot where Earth is trying to create a cyber-wizard army is as awesome as it sounded?
Comment by Hob —
February 6, 2010 @ 1:54 pm
(retro-spoilers: Alternate 2004 Thoreau, cover your ears!)
I think we’ve already seen plenty of evidence that Ben was a pretty shady and compromised leader. He pretended to be on speaking terms with Jacob long after he’d become unable to even see the guy (if he ever had been able to); he convinced the Others to move into the Dharma-burbs, which doesn’t seem particularly in line with whatever they’re about; and he’s been carrying on a vendetta with Widmore for decades, and apparently keeping everyone in the dark about it. Seems plausible that the Others are not down with the smoke monster at all, but that Ben had some special arrangement with it. Ben’s tenure as leader seems to coincide with the natural order of things on the island becoming pretty fucked up – pregnancy becoming fatal, etc. – so maybe the monster being able to get into the Temple, and Jacob having to hang out in cabins and giant feet, is just another sign of this.
Also possible that Smokey did have a proper place in the island’s cosmology, sort of a well-behaved devil, but that he’s been cagey about his own goals too just like Ben.