I've seen the trailer for Season 4 of Lost. And I'm here to tell you it's very, very good.

I mean, it's no surprise that it's good: it's new footage of Lost, people. They could show thirty seconds of Rose and Bernard doing the Macarena and I'd be excited to see new footage of this show. Luckily, for the sake of my sanity, the producers of Lost decided instead to feature a quick, blink-and-you'll-miss-a-LOT teaser of a trailer that serves to establish one thing and one thing only: things are about to get hairy on the island. When all is said and done, Season 4 of Lost might be their Empire Strikes Back, the season where everything goes wrong for the good guys as the forces of evil overwhelm them at every step.

But let's not get too ahead of ourselves just yet. Let's look at every frame of this trailer. And I do mean every frame. Let's treat this, Lost fans, as our very own Zapruder film: let's pour over everything we can and see what we can't glean for our own. To go and see it for yourself, click here. I'll be discussing everything in the trailer from the timestamp on this page. Go on, click. You know you want to. I'll be here when you get back, promise.

Welcome back. I know, huh? I know!

On with the analysis:

0:00 - 0:05: The trailer starts out with footage from the pilot episode, with shots of Oceanic 815 both in the sky and immediately after crashing on the beach. Screens read, "On September 24, 2004...Oceanic Airlines 815 Crashed." There's also a POV shot of Oceanic 815 featured in "A Tale of Two Cities" from Othersville of the plane in mid-flight. Nothing too special yet.

0:05 - 0:07: "February 2008: Rescue Arrives." Yay! Rescue! Rescue is fun! I wonder who's going to rescue us?

0:08: Um, er, uh, who is the creepy person is the futuristic wetsuit/jumpsuit? Why is this person scaring the holy hell out of me? What is this person doing in the jungle? Is this Minkowski? Another member of the freighter crew? Is this person merely wearing normal headgear, or a specialized breathing apparatus that prevents the transition of airborne viruses? Also, where's my Mommy?

0:08: Not even a second goes by and we get a shot of an unknown face, a bearded face, a bearded face dripping wet, a bearded face dripping wet wincing in pain. Possibly Jack, being tortured by those on the freighter? Possibly Jacob, being accosted? More on Jacob later in this trailer, trust me.

0:08: A mere millisecond later, a shot of Kate lit from an unknown source from above in the middle of the night in a rainstorm. Remember: a lot of really important stuff in Lost happens during freakish rainstorms, which almost singularly appear at moments of great emotional turmoil. (Think of the Stevie Ray Vaughn song, "The Sky is Crying." Or, you know, don't. It's a free country.) Perhaps a helicopter is landing, or more probably, a balloon is landing. A balloon not unlike the real Henry Gale used to find the Island years ago. (If you think he accidentally landed there, you're fooling yourself. It was a Widmore Corporation balloon. Widmore would know of the perpetual food drops provided by the Hanso Foundation, drops delivered via balloon, therefore would know the only access route via air onto the Island. Which makes Naomi's mission essentially a kamakazi one. Wow. Naomi's really dedicated. Must be one important mission she's helping fulfill, hmmm?)

0:08: To quote the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons: "Longest. Second. Ever." A shot of what looks to be Sawyer and what looks like Kate, standing aside a portion of Oceanic 815, with a giant pool of light to Sawyer's right. Perhaps this shot falls just before the one of Kate previously described?

0:08: Jack leading Sayid, Juliet, Kate, Karl, and others (not the Others) over a hill towards something. Since Jack's leading them, their destination is "a whole world of pain."

0:09 - 0:11: Screen reads, "Or has it?" in answer to the statement a few seconds ago. I'd point out that four is one of the Numbers, and that eight is as well, and that four seconds passed between the two messages and that in the eighth second many important images were shown, but really, my wife is scared of my Lost obsession as is, so I won't bring any of that up.

0:12: Another version of the last shot shown in Second 8, with Jack and Company going over the river and through the woods, to Widmore's Freighter of Pain and Misery they go. (For those of you new to the blog, I've postulated over the past few weeks that the freighter bringing "rescue" is in fact a nefarious group called the Widmore Corporation, run by Penelope's father Charles, who seek the Island for reasons yet to be determined. I thought I knew what they wanted, but just wait a bit more for a full explanation.)

0:12: An excited Kate tells someone off-screen, "They're on their way!" Oh please, tell me it's a group of Hollywood producers agreeing to end the strike and give us a full,  16-episode Season 4 of Lost. (I love Karl's look in the background: he's either seriously Room 23'd or knows this will end badly.)

0:13: Oh sweet Mary, it's Christian Shepard. In what looks like a cabin. In what looks like Jacob's cabin. Oh my God. Lost, marry me. I don't know what this means, but that's OK: I don't understand women, either, but I married one of them anyways.

0:13: Sawyer makes like Lawrence Taylor and tackles a bloodied Ben to the ground. Looks like this happens somewhere near the time that Jack would have made contact with Naomi's Phone from the Future. (I hope two mysteries get solved this year: how they will explain Oceanic 815 being discovered in the "real" world, and just how much time has passed in the "real" world since a) the crash or b) when the sky went purple.)

0:14: Shot of an electrical explosion on a device normally used to open and close barge doors. A shot from the freighter? One of the hatches?

0:14: A shot of one or more people plunging into the water.

0:14: Kate looks nervous. She's got that, "Oh man, I totally went along with one of Shepard's great ideas, the ones that inevitably lead to me being captured or at best humiliated. (In case you haven't noticed so far, I'm not a fan of Jack's tactical skills. Is his heart in the right place? Sure. Could I completely school him at Risk? You betcha.)

0:14: Hurley (I think it's Hurley) runs...well, ambles through the jungle while Ben tells Jack, "Every person on the Island will be killed." And not with kindness, either. I'm pretty sure about that.

0:15: Locke comes up to an unknown woman lying on the ground, asleep and/or injured. She looks wet: perhaps she's one of those who plunged into the water just a (literal) second ago?

0:16: If you pause at the right time, you see a very different Ben than we've seen this far. We've seen a Ben that's in control, we've seen a Ben spin wildly out of control, we've even seen a Ben that makes jokes about giant hamster wheels powering Othersville. But this is quietly panicked Ben. I want to know who is making him feel that way, and I wanna know right now. In any case, I'm pretty sure it's the person you see a split-second before, wielding an enormous knife.

0:17: Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's Hurley doing at Jacob's Cabin? Anyone? Bueller? Color me intrigued. What mission could Hurley possibly have that brings him there? The only one I can think of: someone told him that Jacob is the origin of the curse, and goes there to break its spell over him once and for all. (I'll return to this by recap's end, I promise.)

0:18: And here, ladies and gents, is Jacob's eye, looking back at Hurley. Hi Jacob. You're cool and all, but I'm sorry to say you'll never be featured on an episode of Cribs until you at least put a plasma TV into your place.

0:18: Kate's in pain; I'm guessing someone from the freighter is forcing her to watch an episode of Yes, Dear.

0:18: Jack, with venom in his eye, pulls the trigger and fires at someone. Ostensibly, not Kate. As amusing as many of you would find it, I'm pretty sure it's not her.

0:19 - 0:20: Locke says, "Whatever it is they came for, it isn't us." This will either prove to be incredibly ironic or the key question to Season 4: What did they come for? Even if it's not a group of Widmore-sponsored employees offshore in the freighter, they are clearly a group of people interested in something specifically about the Island or on the Island. My original thoughts have tended towards the notion, spawned in the ARG "The Lost Experience," that a group of people within and related to the Hanso Foundation decided to reinstate the Dharma Initiative in a world that had moved on from the hippie-esque notions of the DeGroots. A world in which the Valenzetti Equation was still in play. A world in which a potential solution to the equation justified any means. So the question becomes: did they come to the island to restart the DeGroots' work, or did they come to the Island to remove something? Or perhaps, someone? Perhaps a semi-corporeal being with a penchant for super shabby-chic living?

0:21: OK, that's one serious freakin' explosion. Thing is, it might just be a pile of mangos just went the way of bellbottom pants. At first I thought, "Nice, a little nuclear explosion," but upon further review, it looks more like Smokey haulin' butt through pile of tropical fruit. I'll let you be the judge.

0:21 - 0:23 : These images come fast and furious. You'll need quick fingers to see them all. (C'mon, Lost...a QuickTime version of this wouldn't kill you, would it?) We see the following in order: a shot underwater of what looks like a cave, a shot of what looks like the logo for the Hydra Station set against a piece of wood on a rocky beach, Hurley underwater ostensibly looking at the cave, a  skull of a creature with one eye, a shot of a knifed Noami lying face down, a drop of blood falling onto Kate's forearm, Kate looking skyward at the source of the blood, another shot of murky water, and the world's most PO'd buffalo staring down Desmond. Holy...well, a word I can't type here. And yes, there's a freakin' skull of a creature with one ginormous eye socket in the middle of its forehead, there for the world to see. A skull on the same rocky beach where the Hydra station logo was found. This little one-eyed wonder must have been 1) a creature from the Golden Age of the Island, a failed zoological experiment by the Dharma Initiative, or a combination of both. Oh my God. (I realize "Oh my God" does not rise to the heights of great analysis and criticism, but I could honestly care less right now. That was the two greatest seconds of my holiday season right there. I love Lost more than I love Doritos, and I love, love, love me some Doritos.)

0:23 - 0:24: OK, at this point I'm pretty sure I'm being Room 23'd by this trailer. Good God. Even more images come fast and furious at us: shots of what look to be a pilot in inclement weather crash-landing, a big honkin' "6" that appears in the murky water, another shot of a pilot/parachuter is a bad storm, and whoa, is that Charlie Freakin' Pace standing before Hurley? Does Charlie/Smokey send Hurley to Jacob's Cabin? Why would Smokey do that? Does the white powder surrounding the cabin act as a type of sonic barrier to Smokey? Did the Dharma Initiative based their defense mechanisms on Jacob's? Or was this white powder the result of an "incident" decades before, requiring the pushing of a button every 108 minutes?

So many question. So few answers. Such is Lost. But that's why we love it, no?

I've covered a lot, and I mean a lot, of ground, but I've by no means even covered a fraction of it. That's where you come in, boys and girls of all ages. Watch the trailer. Study it. Tell me what I got right, tell me what I got wrong, and tell me what I missed. This is a collaborative effort: I not only want but need your help on this. So leave your thoughts and theories below!

Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude.

Comments

The beginning of this trailer definitely made me think this was going to be a letdown, but then...I've just got to say is that I knew Charlie couldn't be dead! Oh, that just made my week.

And whoever Jack was going to shoot appeared to be the victim of a lot of Jack's anger. Jack gets annoyed with Kate, but not that mad. Perhaps Ben? an Other? a person on the rescue boat? A long shot here, but maybe Sawyer or Locke? (It's a big long shot, though.)

And that was a buffalo? I thought it was just a REALLY big cow. And was that Desmond? That was definitly brown, short, wavy hair...but it could have been someone else.

Also...right around when that 6 flashed at the end of the trailer, there was another pilot falling from the sky...it may have been the one from the beginning of the trailer.

In all of this, though, where are Sun and Jin? or Claire? And so far none of the promised appearances of Michael, Libby, or maybe Walt.

I really want to know who the unidentifiable woman is that Locke was looking at...she almost looked like Bryce Dallas Howard in "Lady in the Water".

Lauren B | Dec 12, 2007 5:53:47 PM | #

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I am SO HAPPY to have some new Lost footage to pour over!!!

Unfortunately, although I hate to rain on your one-eyed-skull parade... that is not in fact not an eye socket at all, but a nasal cavity.

You can see here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull) that the eye sockets are much higher on this animal skull. I'm no anatomy expert, but it looks like a bear skull to me... a polar bear skull perhaps?! Run a Google image search and decide for yourself. :)

But truly an excellent post as always! February can't come soon enough!

Zephyr | Dec 12, 2007 7:35:26 PM | #

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i know you love some one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater theory, but i think that it's a one horned creature or one with a trunk (elephant skulls look similar) with eyes off to the sides of the head, as opposed to a cyclops. still doesn't look like anything i'd like to cuddle with. what with those evil looking fangs and whatnot.

and that is one peeved looking cow, he has crazy eyes. like really crazy wolf eyes or something.

they make casaba melons go all 'splodey like my brains...

i think they just threw in the number six to mess with us...or thay are now being sponsored by Sesame Street (tonight's episode of Lost is brought to you by the number 6!).

also, looks like there's a red-headed woman with a knife in her back. that's gotta hurt. and it looks like a dude in the background slumped on a tree in a generally dead looking pose. who dat? 'cause it looks like a Ben-type person.

who's the dude in the negative black and white image at the end? i don't recognize him...he's the last thing you see before the announcer starts yapping.

mri | Dec 12, 2007 7:42:31 PM | #

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OH WAIT!! the black and white dude at the end is CHARLIE????? if it is him, he looks awfully ticked. maybe he ate what that crazy-ass bovine ate.

mri | Dec 12, 2007 7:51:43 PM | #

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Here's a side-by-side of the skull in the promo and a polor bear skull, courtesy of DarkUFO's site: http://spoilerslost.blogspot.com/2007/11/season-4-trailer.html

Xannie | Dec 13, 2007 4:50:04 AM | #

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Great post about the trailer. I'm certainly looking forward to the new season. Regarding the skull, however...I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but that is a polar bear skull, and not some aforementioned one-eyed beasty. The round opening in the center is where the nose would be. =/ Do a quick google search for 'polar bear skull' and you'll see some more examples.

Alex | Dec 13, 2007 7:01:01 AM | #

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Whoops, hadn't seen Xannie's earlier post.

Alex | Dec 13, 2007 7:02:19 AM | #

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Legends of cyclopes are believed by some to have their origins in mammoth or mastodon skulls which those who found them interpreted as you did -- i.e. with the nasal cavity being confused for a central eye.

So there. Can't wait for the new season.

Ryan | Dec 13, 2007 7:10:31 AM | #

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I am sad it's not a cyclops. I had no idea what it meant, other than I was excited about the possibility of cycloptic creatures running around as an ancient civilization constructed statues of four-toed figured.

Not sad I was wrong, though. Thanks to all you eagle-eyed readers for figuring it out!

Ryan M | Dec 13, 2007 7:27:20 AM | #

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i think i crapped my pants, got scared and cried all at the same time...

there is still some charlie hope out there...

i hope boone and shannon are alive as well..

oh my god... now i cant work... im so LOSTified

james | Dec 13, 2007 10:12:28 AM | #

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That is not a cyclops. Most likely a polar bear skull.

fedrich519 | Dec 13, 2007 11:33:50 AM | #

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It's just a normal sized cow and that looks like Hurley's head. As for the skull... reiterating what everyone else is saying: Polar bear skull. :D

Syke | Dec 13, 2007 1:58:04 PM | #

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No Golden Globe nominations for Lost? What a travesty, and the showtime show The Tudors got like 4. Gawd.

Casey | Dec 13, 2007 2:40:44 PM | #

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Hmm...just looked on imdb...they have the first episode of the season listed as "The Beginning of the End"--very fitting. there's also a girl named Rebecca Mader attached to the episode, and she looks like the girl that Locke was looking at in the jungle. There's no Dominic Monaghan attached, though-- :( . but yes, the black and white guy at the end is Charlie--oh man I'm so excited! maybe he's not listed b/c the producers want it to be a suprise...we'll see. i'm hopeful tho.

Lauren B | Dec 13, 2007 4:53:22 PM | #

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Awesome trailer. As always, it teases a lot and brings up even more questions about it. I'm sure we can spend the next week decyphering it.

Can't wait until Season 4.

Shaggysteve | Dec 13, 2007 6:27:13 PM | #

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I just read at SpoilerFix.com that the 6 in the trailer refers to 6 survivors of Oceanic 815. Apparently only 6 people make it off the island? It also lists the names of those 6, but i will not repeat them here. However, we know from Season 3 finale that Jack & Kate must be 2 of them. Quite a revelation, but why would they tell us this so soon?

Shaggysteve | Dec 13, 2007 7:03:56 PM | #

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After watching "Through the Looking Glass" for a solid week, I'm convinced the doctor in the flash forward is Walt. He speaks with the same cadence that Walt does; very to the point, very calmly, very all knowing, i.e. very Walt.

Also, there's a clip of the Season 4 trailer on YouTube slowed down to over four minutes for those of you that would like to really take in every frame. I'm about to go back and watch it now.

Kevin | Dec 14, 2007 12:10:56 AM | #

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Definetly NOT a buffalo, it's a steer or cow. Also, I don't think that's a one eyed skull; I think that middle hole is it's nasal opening and the eye sockets are further up. I'm guessing something in the ferocious feline department...

Kevin | Dec 14, 2007 12:18:50 AM | #

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polar bear skull

and not mangoes

papayas

goonstock | Dec 14, 2007 7:27:19 PM | #

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You people are nuts. It's just an advertisement. Get over it. Lost doesn't start back up till February - go find something else to do until then. I will too, deal?

getalife | Dec 15, 2007 11:01:59 AM | #

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i am officially re-excited about lost

dan | Dec 17, 2007 9:37:14 PM | #

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way excited for the 1:46 commercial that aired tonight. when is the analysis of this getting posted?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irEAuBdhRN0

morgan | Dec 18, 2007 8:52:00 PM | #

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could someone tell me the link for this trailer

dan | Jan 25, 2008 3:43:24 AM | #

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