'Letters from the Flame': 'Lost' about 'Recon'? I have your answers
We're back with another edition of "Letters from the Flame," kicking it "Recon" style in this week's "Lost" Q&A. I tried to incorporate many of your questions into both the podcast and last week's Course Corrections, but as per usual there were a few leftover burning queries that needed addressing before this week's potentially mind-exploding, nose-bleeding, game-blooping episode.
Before getting into your questions, I have one for you, dear readers. I'm contemplating rolling "Letters" into an audio format, and recording collective answers for that week's panel based on your inquiries for that week's episode. This wouldn't replace the existing weekly podcast, but instead be a shorter, secondary one that would focus less on "audio commentary" style analysis and more on reader questions and concerns.
Here's the question: is this a good idea? It would be all or nothing: I wouldn't type up a transcript of a potentially 30-40 minute podcast. And I'd feel bad asking third world country toddlers to do it for me. So it would be either a podcast that replaces this weekly one, or we'd keep things as is. The benefit to the podcast: more parties answering your questions, and more questions answered. The downside: not everyone likes listening to podcasts or can if they are bad little monkeys reading this in their cube on the sly.
So, if you could, let me know in the comments which way you'd like to go. I might still do a second podcast in general with Mo Ryan and our weekly partner-in-podcast-crime, but "Letters" seems the easiest current column to add to the mix. If not, we can always hold beatbox contests or something. But by all means, let me know what you'd like to see/hear happen here in the final half of the final season.
Now, onto the questions!
Ryan, do we know for certain that the individual stories in the sideways timeline are connected to each other? This is why I'm asking:
In "LA X," when Kate gets in the airport elevator after escaping from Edward, Sawyer sees the handcuffs she's trying to hide. He helps her get out of the elevator so the airport security guards don't spot the handcuffs. Then we find out in the "Recon" sideways timeline that Sawyer is an LAPD cop. It seems to me (and I'm saying this with respect) that a cop is always on duty, so why did Sawyer help Kate in "LA X" instead of detaining her?
Is it possible that the Sawyer in the "LA X" sideways timeline is not the same as the Sawyer in the "Recon" sideways timeline? Could it also be possible that Locke's father in the sideways timeline is not the bad guy he is in Sawyer's sideways timeline?
Must go lie down now...my head hurts. :)
Buffy fan
If we're dealing with more than one timeline, then I think people would revolt. But I wouldn't worry: as Noel Murray pointed out in our podcast last week, the easiest way to answer Sawyer's actions in LAX is that he would have drawn attention to himself in the international section of the airport had he acted. Since he was supposed to be in Florida, suspicion would have been aroused had he enabled Kate's arrest there.
Every episode Smocke seems more Locke like. Are the Man in Black and Locke's personalities merging?
mew for lost
For at least centuries, if not longer, The Man in Black looked for a loophole. What he probably didn't account for were any side affects that would occur should he ever achieve it. From purely a fan perspective, I LOVE the idea that the old Locke keeps popping out at various times, from shouting "Don't tell me what I can't do!" in "The Substitute" to talk of his crazy mother in "Recon." But it's unclear to what point this is actually happening, and how much control The Man in Black has over any possible "merge." Remember: this is an entity that scanned Eko's entire life just by confronting him, and may have done the same thing when it strobed on Juliet in "Left Behind." There's a difference in simply absorbing all of Locke's memories and actually having them unintentionally incorporated into his new meat suit. For now, let's keep this possibility in play, but not make an official ruling for the time being.
Sawyer (and the writers) made it pretty clear that "whoever is on my raft, not a hair on their head gets touched". Do you think that his raft will be the one that shoots at Time-Traveling Season 5 Saywer and Co.? Like you, I've been wondering about that moment since it happened. There was a casualty on that boat- Is Sawyer trying to sacrifice himself to save Juliet?
John
So I went back and watched this sequence from "The Little Prince" again to try and suss this out. I'm wondering if that second boat is like The Arrow's glass eye: something brought up for later explanation only to get seemingly dropped later. But here's a wager: we learn about BOTH the eye and the second raft this season. The eye reveal might be akin to Shannon's inhaler in terms of relative importance, but you're right: SOMEONE takes a bullet on the second boat. Not sure if it's a casualty or not, but someone gets hit. If we see two outriggers land on Team Jacob's beachfront lot this season, be prepared to see the second half of this scenario.
Why is a submarine easier to pilot than a plane? Sawyer and Kate needed a pilot for the plane, who they gonna get to drive the sub? That chapped my hide last night, and I know it's a niggling detail but I was PEEVED about the whole locked door/new people thing.
mri
So Sawyers great "Sting" is to tell both parties the truth, then commit a proper subjacking? Not exactly a Newman/Redford worthy scam, eh?
Brian of the North
I also love how we're supposed to simply not question the ridiculousness of this plan. HOW are they supposed to take the sub? Is there an inflatable auto-pilot, a la "Airplane!" on board that sucker? I think both modes of transportation available to leave the Island prove that sometimes the answers to lingering mysteries deflate under the pressure of their prosaic answers. It's like the always say: once you go donkey wheel, it's hard to go back.
As for your peeved state at the newest "Lost" mystery (what's behind Sub Door #1?), I have more than a few thoughts on both that mystery and your annoyance. But I think I'll hold off on that until tomorrow's post.
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Photo credit: ABC
I was thinking back to seasons past, and something just struck me: remember the special relationship that Locke had with Smokey? Not only would Locke stare down Smokey, he also experienced a vision through Smokey. He tells Eko (oh, Eko) that when he looked into the smoke he saw something beautiful. Smokey was conning Locke from the beginning.
Locke's relationship to the island was largely guided by Smokey. Locke believed in the island, but he didn't believe in Jacob (until the very end, and even then it was actually Smokey he talked to). I'm gonna have to go back and watch the whole thing over (minus the Bai Ling), to see how Locke and Smokey were aligned.
Man, Locke was a sucker.
If you are willing to do both a letters column AND a second podcast anyway, then I'm all for that. I'll be using the phrase "In a buttshell" for the rest of my life (I mean, it's up there with "laugh while you can, Monkey Boy"), so I'm all for anything that would get us more podcasts.
If it is either or, then I'd still take the podcast, but I'd hope you'd at least put up some token post to replace Letters, in order to create and stimulate a new discussion thread. As I told Mo Ryan, we've only got a few months left before Lost is gone forever, so I'm hoping for as much Lost discussion as possible in the time we have remaining.
My God: soon Lost will be gone forever (gulp!).
I may seem like a verbose net-head, but this is one of only a few shows I've ever become invested in to the point where I would join in any discussion group, and it's the first since Firefly went off the air. Once it is gone, it's going to be highly unlikely I will find and become consumed with a replacement show as for a long, long time.
I find it hard to believe they put anything on the air last season, including the outrigger, that they did not have plotted out to the nth decimal point. We'll see that reverse angle eventually, and, yeah, it might be tragic. But they are really going to have to work it to come up with a way in which Sawyer and Co. are the ones to end up firing on it. Just can't see why they'd bother going after a boat that isn't bothering them, even if Sawyer doesn't remember that it's likely him and Juliet on it. And why would he take the chance on maybe hitting Juliet?
As for the sub hijacking, I think I can wait it out before I ridicule it. It's certainly not a bad plan to steer Widmore and Smocke into a confrontation, with the idea being to escape while they "got their hands full with each other." As for driving the sub, I find it hard to believe that it's anywhere near as difficult as flying a plane. Likewise, I don't find it very had to buy that after three years as security chief that Sawyer didn't learn at least enough rudimentary sub-tech to do it himself, or that he's simply counting on Widmore having the sub pilot stay on the sub and out of harm's way during any fight. I sure as hell wouldn't let the sub pilot off the boat if there were a chance he'd get smoked by Smocke.
Anyway, on a show with smoke monsters, walking dead people, ghost seeing and hearing characters, and an island that cannot be found and that heals people, a guy learning to drive a mini-sub while running Dharma security for three years doesn't really stretch the bounds of credulity for me.
My personal vote would be to stick to the current format... just my opinion, of course.
Also, I might be oversimplifying, but I thought the glass eye was Mikhail's? It was revealed in season 2, and he followed in season 3 if I recall.
I'll be very disappointing if you don't get to see the 2nd half of that outrigger scene.
I also rewatched The Little Prince, and remember that the zodiac was gone too. so at some point is the zodiac raft just going to appear out of nowhere on the beach? Also, there was a bunch of empty Dharma beer cans on the beach too, so I wonder if Team Jacob is going to have a little party.
Like Schmokers, I like the idea of a second podcast, but I really need some written content too. Waiting for Tuesday's episode has been horrible, and I did some stupid things: I read the guest stars, saw the sneak peeks and the press picts, and I've been avoiding these all season. I can't imagine what I would of read if I didn't have basketball to distract me a bit.
Gah! Ryan, why must you torment me with the idea that the glass eye may have an answer before the end!?
I've finally made peace with the fact it'll never have an explanation and now you've sent my expectations into a freefall. My brain is broken.
I'd like to see this as a podcast, but if that doesn't happen, I'm definitely on board the beatbox contests...
Aw, JeffC. My bad. That 'graph should have come with a Surgeon General's warning.
Sawyer is being manipulated to facilitate the death of everyone on the Island. Widmore will kill the Smocke followers, Widmore will fail in his attempt to "contain" The Monster and be killed. Smocke will escape to freedom on the sub, alone.
Sawyer and time-skipping pals were being shot at by Sawyer, like everyone thinks. But, he'll be trying to break the time loop that led to the calamity...after finds out Smokce manipulated him.
i prefer written content but i'm sure if you do some podcasts that i would listen in
i have a feeling the outrigger scene is definitely going to be addressed this season; it feels like a total set-up for this final season and for one heck of a twist; i would think those giving chase would not include anyone who was in the time-shifting group as they wouldn't chase themselves; who does that leave?
Please keep this as a written column. I know most things are moving to podcasts but it drives me crazy cause I have absolutely no time to listen to them. Bill Simmons on espn now does almost only podcasts with maybe one written column a month and so I never hear his insights anymore on anything cause I just don't have the time to listen to them.