'Lost': Letters from the Flame, Volume 9

It's mailbag time, y'all. I'm here to answer your Lost-related questions as we take a short break in the We Have to Go Back series before heading into the homestretch of a series that started way back in June. How time flies when you're writing 80+ rehashes, eh? As always, these are real questions asked by real readers. No artificial ingredients here, people.

Have you seen the new Dharma logo? Do you think it's a beam, a wrench (?), or something else? ---sin laden

I have indeed seen it, since I'm a good little Lost monkey that dutifully watches all of the videos embedded in the Artist Formerly Known as the ARG. The logo in question can be seen here, for those of you who haven't gazed upon it it yet. I don't think this qualifies as a spoiler, as I mistakenly called it upon first reporting the video over at the Facebook group. Darlton sent this out to a few hundred thousand people, so I'm going forward on this blog assuming everything in their emails is OK to broadcast to you here.

Anyways, it resembles a lighthouse to me. (Or a bug zapper.) Since it's inside an official Lost email, I'm going to assume it's a legit logo and not something cooked up by the non-canon peeps. The imagery suggests something designed to either ward off nearby passengers from imminent doom, or a signal to harken those from afar. Perhaps there's a connection between this logo and the mysterious way in which Ben, Richard, and Tom seem to be able to come and go without the use of submarine. That's right, kids: it's possibly a logo for an off-Island station. Where? Well, it's not in Portland, I'll tell ya that much.

What in the world is the gray ash surrounding Jacob's cabin? Is it Smokey taking a nap, hence Ben's eagerness to skedaddle? Or is it the essence of NotChristian inching closer to the cabin, circling like buzzards? Or maybe instead of Smokey napping, it is Smokey laying down like a loyal dog protecting its master and waiting for the signal to attack? NAMASTE! ---The Man from Tennessee

Good to hear from you, Anthony Cooper. You're taking that whole death by strangulation thing pretty well.

One thing revealed in this week's Darlton email is that the smoke monster preceded the Dharma Initiative. That means, among other things, that my question asked back in the "Left Behind" recap has been answered: the sonic fence was specifically designed to prevent nightly smoke monster attacks. Smokey is not the byproduct of any experiment or incident, but native to the Island when those crazy DeGroots touched down to do their thang.

But where did the DI get the idea of a circular perimeter surrounding their habitations, hmmm? Seems pretty coincidental. Obviously the circle as a symbol is incredibly important throughout the course of history, suggesting among other things a powerful binding mechanism that separates those within from those without. Circles of salt, earth, fire, or friendship bracelets can all form a nearly impenetrable bond. Gray ash might do the trick as well.

Of course, while those inside the Barracks are nominally "safe," they are far from free. By Season 4, the cabin has moved, outside of the circle I assume, which allows entry by either the unworthy or uninvited, depending upon what you perceive notChristian to be. Just how the cabin left its safe zone is something to explore come the following seasons.

I want speculation on who else we'll see "come back" (not that I think they came back so much as the Island is on a victory lap) We saw Ethan in the promos, who else will we see? See, on this victory lap I'm hoping we'll get some backstory on people like Danielle. ---mri

I personally love the idea of the "victory lap," as if the Island just won the 800m dash and is now draped in its flag (consisting of a mountain vista that reveals Radzinsky's map when black light is shone upon it). That amuses me greatly. But you don't care about my amusement, you care about answers.

Ethan's appearance in the trailer, circa 1978 if our calculations are correct, suggest he's got Richard's secret for long-lasting life. Which means he was potentially part of the Purge Crew. Which also means that the Immortals ain't so immortal, after all. Richard Alpert might not remember birthdays, but he can still shuffle off this mortal coil all the same. Just because he doesn't age doesn't mean he can't die.

The great thing about Lost is that the victory lap isn't needed to have Haley Joel Osment-esque abilities to see dead people. There's always the chance of a Charlie or an Ana Lucia or a (shudder) Nikki popping up off-Island to scare the bejesus of an Oceanic 6'er or surprising Sawyer as he fills up a water bottle on the Island.

Your point about Danielle is shared by me: she and Ben are such unreliable narrators that I kinda sorta need to see 1) how Danielle really ended up on the Island, and 2) how Alex came to be part of the Others. Something's just really off about the whole thing. But Danielle's death doesn't preclude her story being further told in some fashion. Actually, this ties into the next question, offered up by several people in one form or another.

What do you make of this "Libby's story is finished" business we've heard from Damon and Carlton recently? ---BC

This caused a mini-riot over on the Facebook group, as people dissected the words of Darlton spoken at a roundtable recently to pimp the Season 4 DVD. The topic at hand was full-on flashbacks, and their exact words were, "...some stories -- like Libby's -- we feel are pretty much finished." And that sentence caused more scrutiny than was given to the Zaputer film.

What I personally need to know is why Libby was in the asylum. I don't NEED a Libby flashback to tell me this. I need someone at some point to make a passing reference to Hurley that "we've been watching you since before you boarded Oceanic 815" and that would wrap that up nicely for me. Or, she can appear to Hurley and give him the scoop herself. Either way satisfies me.

But this is a very individual response to the question at hand. To me, 99% of her character's motivation was given in the single tear shed after kissing Hurley in "Dave." That bespoke a woman that hated herself even more than Juliet Burke hates herself at the end of "D.O.C." as she makes the recording for Ben. In my mind, she is a good person who did some bad things under false pretenses and realized only too late how wrong she was. However, just because I'm satisfied with this doesn't mean others are, and I can see how many were upset by Darlton's words here.

From the introduction of Desmond and Ben in S2, the Others in S3, and all the flashbackers, the lostaways have grown from the initial crash survivors. So, who are your top 5 favorite characters not introduced/shown during season 1? A-Rob

Great, not like this question hasn't haunted my dreams since reading it. This isn't quite as bad as asking me to name my Top Five Desert Island Discs, but man, it's a doozy. I've made about ten different versions of this list in the past 48 hours, due to my intense research and utter lack of life. But I feel pretty good about this one. For today. For this hour, even. Look, just don't hold me to this, OK? Promise?

#5: Richard Alpert. Every time he's onscreen, something important is happening.
#4: Daniel Faraday. A brilliant stroke of genius by Darlton, creating this character as the expositional window into the Island's mysterious nature.
#3: Juliet Burke. Largely wasted in Season 4, but the most compelling and complex figure of Season 3 with the chance to shine in the season to come.
#2: Desmond Hume. The emotional heart of the show for me, with his call to Penny aboard the Kahana my #1 Lost moment ever.
#1: Benjamin Freakin' Linus. Only one of the five greatest characters in television history.

Your turn, readers. What's your list?

Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude, then peruses Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group. He also encourages you to join the all-new Zap2It's Guide to Lost Twitter feed. Pretty soon he'll have as many platforms as readers have awesome questions.