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'Lost': Following the leaders of The Others
Honestly, I think I could spend the rest of the weeks leading up to the final season of "Lost" talking about nothing but The Others. Don't worry, that's not my plan -- but the past week and a half has shown just how seemingly inexhaustible this topic truly is. My cursory look at some of the major mysteries surrounding these people has yielded even more, equally interesting conundrums from you, the readers.
Here's a question that I've attempted to address before, but it's worth looking at again. Courtesy of reader DCMeads, in regard to Charles Widmore's time as leader of The Others:
But did Widdy ever really rule the Island?Charles Widmore as the Matt Cassel of the Island? Sure, works for me!
Clearly '54 Widdy acted like he was in charge but supplicated to [Alpert]'s final authority in "Jughead". Renaissance Widdy showed his muscle while taking down Kate and Jack in "The Variable" while Ellie, still in control, used her brain. Finally Ben one-ups him in "Dead is Dead" and the so-called leader is soon on the midnight sub to England. He may have been the quarterback after Ellie went mainland but he always seemed second string on the Island.
But let's actually separate "Others' leader" from "Island ruler" off the top, here. The latter is not only different from the former, but a false title that is fool's gold. One cannot ever rule the Island. Trying to rule it means you've failed in understanding what the Island's purpose actually is. It's not a place to own; it's a place to share. This is why I theorized that Hurley's so important to the show's endgame: that guys gives away everything. Possession's not his bag, baby.
Around the time that "Jughead" originally aired, I questioned if there always had to be, by necessity/rule, a true leader of the Others. In other words, Richard Alpert was DCMeads' version of an interim leader in the absence of a "true" one selected through the still very mysterious, very long process. In that episode, Richard responds to Locke's claim that he's the leader of The Others by saying, "Look, I... certainly don't want to contradict myself, but... we have a very specific process for selecting our leadership, and it starts at a very, very young age."
If so, perhaps Eloise and Charles still qualify. After all, we don't know how they came to the Island, how long they had been there, and if indeed they were born there. Maybe there's a maternity ward in The Temple and Richard stares at them all the way he stared at a newborn baby Locke. (If so, can we start calling him McEyeliner, in honor of "Grey's Anatomy?") But given the fact that every iteration of Others consists of another stage of Jacob's so-called "progress," perhaps we have to move past the idea of an ideal Others leader and realize that, in fact, all of them have been inherently flawed.
We can safely call them flawed for one primary reason: Richard Alpert is still alive. As I posited in these two entries, Richard's purpose is to find the person that can satisfy Jacob's end goal. Until he finds him or her, he's doomed to stay ageless. As such, since he's still alive, he's not yet found the true Island heir. By extension, none of the Others' leaders have been their heir, and what logically follows is that all of the leaders throughout Other's history have come up short in one way or another.
So rather than judge Eloise, Charles, and Ben in terms of each other, perhaps we should be comparing them to what the ideal leader would be. All three have shown attachments that compromise their leadership (Eloise to Daniel, Ben to Annie/Alex, Charles to the Island and perhaps Scrooge McDuck-esque levels of cash). Season 6 may be less about what the primary players hold onto, and more about what they are willing to let go. Only then can progress end, Richard die, and the Others finally find a leader worth having. The leader won't rule them; that leader will set them free.
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"The leader won't rule them; that leader will set them free."
Again this makes me think the Lost writers are being inspired by "Dune". Moa'dib, the "messiah" of the Dune world, realized that his takeover of the universe had given rise to a corrupted religion that worshipped him, and through the use of forsight he saw that the human race would die out if it continued to be trapped by the power of one man in control of one substance (the spice). So he realized the only way to end the cycle was to destroy everything that he created; to become such a brutal, powerful demigod that pushed humanity to seek it's own freedom, a task that eventually fell to his son.
I think the Others will work the same way; Jacob realizes that the only way for his followers, and perhaps humanity as a whole to ever reach the end he envisions for them, they must first be freed from his own influence.
"The leader won't rule them; that leader will set them free."
Again this makes me think the Lost writers are being inspired by "Dune". Moa'dib, the "messiah" of the Dune world, realized that his takeover of the universe had given rise to a corrupted religion that worshipped him, and through the use of forsight he saw that the human race would die out if it continued to be trapped by the power of one man in control of one substance (the spice). So he realized the only way to end the cycle was to destroy everything that he created; to become such a brutal, powerful demigod that pushed humanity to seek it's own freedom, a task that eventually fell to his son.
I think the Others will work the same way; Jacob realizes that the only way for his followers, and perhaps humanity as a whole to ever reach the end he envisions for them, they must first be freed from his own influence.
The question that comes to mind for me now Ryan is this after reading your blog: Is the island truly special or is it that way because of Jacob? I think we can safely say Jacob is special without the island but all the things that have happened on the island is it because of him and the MIB's interaction or the pocket of energy that is with the Island. Locke was able to walk again...did the Island do it as he believes or was it Jacob. Going back to what you mentioned the other day about Jacob's and MIB's conversation how "it only ends once"...maybe Jacob is waiting for the right leader to arrive so that he can finally prove MIB wrong. For the man or woman that comes will not continue to bring fighting and death among the people.
First, about the last post. Someone mentioned it but nobody picked up on it - how do we know Widmore isn't just picking up where his father left off? Couldn't the Widmore Corporation have been a family business? I'm only thinking of this since it looks like we now have a third generation of players in this story with the introduction of Jack's grandfather ( and even Locke's grandmother acting sneaky.) Something seemed to be up with him in that one scene, just makes you wonder how far back all of this goes.
As for Richard, how cool would a flash forward be of some old guy off island remembering his past as this apparent island leader.
Ryan,
I meant to ask was Widdy ever the leader of the Others, not the Island. Guess I had too much MacCutcheon that night.
And I totally agree Richard ran the camp in "Jughead" but I still think Ellie bossed Widdy around at that time also before she took Daniel to the bomb, making him-gulp- third string. Here in DC we call that Jason Campbell! Can you say 2-6.
Your point of an ageless Richard is a good one. He could be considered the Sisyphus of the Island ever rolling leaders up the hill. I think one could compare the mythology of Sisyphus to Lost with parallels of Hell and trickery to get someone to do something you were supposed to yourself. Just not sure who is Zeus or Persephone for that matter. But that's why I love LOST.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus
But definitely this never ending cycle of coming and corrupting won't end once until (as I've said many times before) our Losties stop their selfishness and fighting as Rose scolded them to do in "The Incident". And I sure hope in Season 6 we get a scene of Juliet and Rose having tea "Some other time".
A-Rob that would be a cool flash forward, but remember someone theorized that Grandpa Ray was actually '77 Jack.
Ryan you need to do a synopsis of the strong and I must say Lesbianish Other women, Isabel; Bea; Bonnie; Greta; Cindy; Sam the butcher; etc.
Did I miss the Dharma U-Haul?
@DCMeads - Now, I know you aren't trying to be offensive. I'm a girl who played rugby, ice hockey and a plethera of other sports. For YEARS I had short hair and the majority of my friends have been all guys. I am not a lesbian. Perhaps TPTB just like chicks who can kick ***!
Ok, off my soapbox.
@Ryan - nice write up. I like McEyeliner. That may stick even if there isn't a nursery in the temple.
Please, please no McEyeliner. I mean the eyeliner comment about Richard was getting old to begin with, but a St. Elsewhere nod?
Just go buy a snow globe and call it done.
EmrsnFnMoorhead,
As an openly gay man and a well known advocate on behalf of equal rights for numerous minority groups and a past President of the 2nd largest local LGBT organization in the country, I certainly mean no offense. Just being Cheeky. Lesbians come in all shapes and sizes. But Bonnie and Greta have L Word all over them.
Gotta go with DCMeads on this. The moment I read the word Lesbianish I thought of pretty much everyone he listed. And I'm sorry Bonnie's haircut is one thing, but two girls trapped in an underwater place called The Looking Glass? When one says if she starts to question things everything will fall apart? Heck I'm not even gonna go into the fact that they were inevitably killed by a one-eyed-monster. ...I apologize.