Well, last week, we took a long hard look at the Island, and what a wonderful week it was no? Full of amazing and insightful commentary about the place Lost calls home, if I do say so myself. And while we could look at every nook and cranny and hatch on the Island, let's tear ourselves away for now and move onto another topic. I know, copious tears might be shed, but it's for the good of all. Or at least The Others.

That's right, Topic #2 in this three-week experiment of looking in-depth at reader-selected topics are The Others, who for the first three seasons formed the primary antagonist to the Lostaways. Although they were largely decimated by the end of Season 3, their presence is still largely felt, both from a current narrative standpoint and as a way to understand the current antagonists to the show, The Freighters. While we sorta know who the Others are, we still don't know precisely what they represent, and that's what we'll focus on uncovering this week.

When I say that we know who the Others are, I mean that from a name-face recognition perspective. We can look at once guy and say, "Hi, Richard Alpert," and look at another and go, "Hi, brainwashed stewardess Cindy," and so forth and so on. But what's the connective tissue between these two? One is a seemingly ageless wonder with a particularly keen affinity for both the Island and eye-liner; the other is someone who ostensibly knew nothing of the Island, Jacob, or The Others prior to capture on the Island.

And yet, these are both Others, for the intents of our discussion today. I want to look at them from as many angles as possible: biographical, anthropological, sociological, psychology, just to name a few. All this in a way to answer one question that still eludes us as viewers to this day: What do The Others want?

Before we can answer that, we have to identify what an Other truly is. Who is an ideal Other? Ben? Juliet? Richard? Karl? If Season 3 showed us anything, it's that not even the Others can decide what they really want. On one side is Ben Linus, and on the other Richard Alpert. And the difference between what these two sides both want might give us an insight into the true, original nature of the people we now know as Others.

But all that's to come this week, along with a few, if not all, of the following topics:

1. Are the Others at least partially composed of people who arrived long before the Dharma Initiative?
2. What is the Temple, and what purpose does it serve?
3. On what basis are new people recruited into The Others?
4. What role does Room 23 play, if any, towards the conversion of people into Others?
5. What does the word "Others" mean, in terms of narration, especially in light of how Team Locke has acted so far during Season 4?
6. Are The Others in fact "the good guys?"

All this and more in a jam-packed week here on the Lost blog. The show might be on temporary hiatus, but we're not. And I do mean "we," as once again I am asking you for your input into this week's entries. And you can do that in one of two ways.

1. Posit an angle I can take in terms of analyzing The Others this week in the comments section below. It can take the form of a theory or a question.
2. Drop me a question for Thursday's "Letters From the Flame," in which you can ask me anything Lost-related and I will answer come Thursday. You can email me your queries/insights or simply leave them below with a big ol' "WAAAAAAALT" atop your comment so I know it's "Flame"-related.

Good? Good.

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

Comments

I can't help but to feel...well lost for the lack of a better word, about the depths these topics are going. I mean I am no dummy, but the way you word these blogs, Ryan, makes my college term papers look like crap. I guess it's because I am not interested in what I am writing... But I don't know. I think Juliet is not a true "Other" in that she has been held there against her will. Maybe her sinister ways at the beginning of Season Three had a lot to do with her anger over Goodwin's death at the hand of the Losties. As far as the rest of them I will have to deliberate on them later.

Mark O. Estes | Apr 6, 2008 6:45:09 PM | #

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I don't consider Juliet to truly be an Other. In fact I think that is what saved her life in the tattoo episode (I know, yuk!). She was going to be executed for killing "one of her own", but Ben said the rules didn't apply to her and she was marked instead. The Others aren't one of her own.

In fact, I always thought the meaning of Jacks awful tattoo described Juliet more than Jack - one who walks amongst us but is not one of us. I would like more of an explanation of what the mark means or represents, especially in light of what we've learned about Bens feeling that Juliet belongs to him.

Also, I'm interested in Karls background. He appeared to be the same age as Alex. Was he one of the last children conceived on the island?

Shari | Apr 6, 2008 9:27:00 PM | #

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Thanks Shari for that reminder. I keep forgetting that episode... Maybe because it was irrelevant?

Mark O. Estes | Apr 7, 2008 12:19:57 AM | #

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Ah, now we finally come to discussion about MY people...hehe, JK.

I'll start with one of the questions I slipped in on Island Week:

- Who/what is Richard Alpert and his faction? What are his origins, and how long has he and his people been on the Island?

- What is it about Ben that allows him to commune with the Island (and Jacob)?

- What factor or element of a person makes them worthy of being on Jacob's list, and thus, become an Other?

- Do the Others all have supernatural powers, or a connection to the Island that let's them share in its power? Assuming Harper is alive, she seems to be able to exhibit some of this, and Mikhail apparently ressurected himself.

- What are the whispers, really? Why do they signal the arrival and/or departure of the Others?

One thing I find very fascinating is the direction both Lost and BSG are taking. Both shows are in their 4th seasons now, and both seem to be using a similar over-arching storyline; bitter enemies that unite for a common goal.

In BSG, they've been hinting at the inevitable joining of humans and Cylons for 2 seasons now, and with the reveal of four of the Final Five, it seems like that is the direction this last season is going.

On Lost, of course, the 815'ers and the Others are now faced with annihilation from a new, common enemy, and it looks like the only way they'll survive is to join forces.

Other Sean | Apr 7, 2008 12:25:24 AM | #

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I bet this as been discussed here over and over again, but I always had the feeling that the first few episodes of season 3 were weird.

I mean what the Waaaaaalt happened to kate in that breakfast with ben?

And the Locke scene in the airport with boone (the one where ben is an airport guard), don't you think it's strange?

About the others, and their recruiting, maybe they have survived as long as they seem to have because they have been bringing people to the island (I personally believe that they were already on the island before the black rock) for centuries, and that's how they survive even without anyone being born.

Either that, or the dharma iniciative managed to get back on the island after the purge and droped something on the island that ended the fertility of the females (and the males). Maybe that's what smokey is for (just kidding

sin laden | Apr 7, 2008 5:08:20 AM | #

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Some random thoughts, based on the Others questions posed by the esteemed host of this blog...Repetitive History...Freighters = 815ers = Black Rockers = Others...each group has specifically "talented" individuals...Island = an unstoppable destiny?...doesn't matter "why" you come but "who" you are "when" you come...Desmonds conversation with Mrs. Hawking (re: destiny) becomes the key to understanding the true nature of the island. Sorry for the randomness of my thoughts, but it is Monday and I'm kinda strung out from a long weekend.

Brian of the North | Apr 7, 2008 6:45:22 AM | #

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Someone (forgive me for not remembering who) made a good observation several posts ago: after 3.5 seasons we still don't know who the Others are and what their purpose is.

While I'm just as clueless as any other Lost fan, I have a theory that we're going to start seeing more and more connections between the Others and the Hanso Foundation. So far, we've seen the Hanso logo on Harper's psychiatry degree and the letters HNSO in the serial numbers of both Ben and Michael's passports.

When you look at other unexplained things like the runway the Others were building and the seemingly endless resources Ben and Mittelos Biosciences seem to have at their disposal, I'm wondering if maybe at some point the Hanso Foundation divested from the DHARMA Initiative (there is a AH/MDG incident of 1985 cited on the blast door map) and found a new, or rather, old group of people who lived on the Island that were more like in mind to Hanso's philosophies and goals than the DeGroots' scienctific endeavours.

I know it's a long-shot, but to me it's far more interesting (and explainable on television) than worm holes and parallel universes.

Jeff | Apr 7, 2008 6:45:31 AM | #

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if Juliet doens't qualify as an Other (since she's held on the Island against her will) i wonder if there are other Others in her situation who would qualify as "not Others."

any other thoughts on that?

haha.

mri | Apr 7, 2008 6:47:30 AM | #

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Now I have Blondie going through my head..."One way, or an Other/I'm gonna find ya/I'm gonna gitcha gitcha gitcha..."

Ryan | Apr 7, 2008 7:13:39 AM | #

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I, too, wonder about Karl. I have pondered the existance of this young man who is the same age as Alex and I have supposed that Karl, just maybe, is also Danielle's child. Maybe Rousseau gave birth to twins. If not her, then who is Karl's mother? Did she die in the purge? Was Karl taken from someone else who crashed on the island around the same time as Rousseau? If Karl and Alex are part of the "others" family, why is it that they are unaware of the Temple and it's purpose when all the other "others" know about it?
Some folks have speculated that the Temple is another Dharma station. I say no. If it were then Widmore would know about it because those pesky freighter people seem to know about stations on the island and their exact locations. The Temple , if it were a Dharma station, would be the first place Widmore would search for Ben Linus.
I am sure that the Dharma Initiative erected a "church" of some other place of worship for their researchers when they set up shop on the island but, I highly doubt Ben's folks would have used it as a sanctuary/hideout/last safe place on the island.

Chris | Apr 7, 2008 7:19:25 AM | #

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Eko erects a church (used by Locke)...Others go to Temple...

Brian of the North | Apr 7, 2008 7:28:39 AM | #

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What's interesting, and something I hadn't noticed until watching "Kevin Johnson" last night, is there's a Dharma logo next to the Temple on the map drawn by Ben. Hmmmm.

Ryan | Apr 7, 2008 7:36:39 AM | #

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Yeah, I noticed that, too. I really hope it's not a DHARMA station. I really want to see an ancient Mayan-seque temple.

Maybe DHARMA set up a research station to study the ruins?

Jeff | Apr 7, 2008 8:05:35 AM | #

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Ryan, that is exactly why folks have been saying the Temple is another Dharma station. Maybe Ben uses the Dharma "church" or some other Dharma station as a point of reference when drawing a map to the "other's" Temple.

I would like to know just where the "others" lived pre-Dharma. I have said this before in response to one of your other blogs but, who was on the island pre-Dharma and where exactly did they live prior to the Dharma Initiative building those wonderful houses that they now live in?
There must be some kind of a community that pre-dates Dharma, one that housed the "hostiles".
I also wonder how many years it took for Dharma to build all of those underground stations for their research and how many battles with the "hostiles" took place and how many of them did Dharma have to hurt/kill in order for them to complete their facilities on the island?

Chris | Apr 7, 2008 8:07:29 AM | #

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What if Jacob's cabin is the Temple? Apparently the cabin can appear/disappear at will and maybe the ring of ash doesn't keep Jacob in but, rather, keeps unwanted souls out? Just a thought...........

Chris | Apr 7, 2008 10:58:07 AM | #

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Given that it was so shocking for Ben to take ANYONE to Jacob's cabin, I'd rule that out. I also associate hatches with unnatural edifices, things made of metal as opposed to wood, things in violation of the Island as opposed to constructed from it.

Sometimes a mystical cabin is just a mystical cabin.

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Ryan | Apr 7, 2008 11:06:25 AM | #

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wonder if Ben will try and make them all drink the kool-aid a la Jonestown if the Freighters all show up...

mri | Apr 7, 2008 11:44:00 AM | #

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mri, Ben might make the others (lower-case, note) drink the Kool-Aid, but he'll be having a Beck's Dark on his private yacht somewhere in the Bahamas while The Others (upper-case, note) who are left are fending for themselves. I don't see Ben as the type who would really care if anybody supposedly on his side dies or not, which is why he has no problem sending them into harm's way to do his bidding. Why risk the mousetrap yourself if somebody else is willing (and stupid) enough to get their neck snapped in order for you to get the cheese? And as for Juliet, I think she might have been one of The Others at one time, but I think Juliet is now in it only for herself, because she's trusted both sides and gotten the stinky end of the stick either way. And thanks to the "mystical log cabin," I shall never be able to use a bottle of Log Cabin Maple Syrup again without shuddering a mite. Thanks, creators of Lost, thanks.

Dark Disciple | Apr 7, 2008 12:26:44 PM | #

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Christmas just got creepier.

"Hey, Billy, wanna play with your Lincoln Logs?"
"God loves you as he loved Jacob."
"So, um, that's a no, then?"

Ryan | Apr 7, 2008 12:50:00 PM | #

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DD-

i dunno, Ben may be creepy and manipulative, but he also seems hell-bent on protecting the Island at all costs. if the gas tanks had leaked at the end of the Tempest, i'm fairly certain Ben would have died along with everyone else. so he may very well be both a kool-aid pusher and drinker.

i agree on the syrup, and now Log Cabin Republicans freak me out even more...

mri | Apr 7, 2008 1:09:21 PM | #

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I don't know, that creepy talking Aunt Jemima bottle always gave me the Waaaaalts. Many a dream had her coming to life in front of my dollar pancakes intoning, "We all sleep down here, Brian....We all sleep down heeeeeerrrrre!"

Brian of the North | Apr 7, 2008 1:14:30 PM | #

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Or mayhap it was "We all swim down here!".

Brian of the North | Apr 7, 2008 1:15:59 PM | #

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Or float....Pennywise scared me when he told me "We all Float Down Here"

Chris | Apr 7, 2008 1:26:25 PM | #

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You just had to bring up Pennywise, didn't you? Tim Curry with fangs...brrrrrrr. I wonder if Mr. Friendly was a Log Cabin Republican? Wealthy, friends in high places, lover of, er, all things foreign (Latino or Greek, couldn't tell, his paramour slid out of sight so quickly)...yep, must've been a card-carrying member. So now I have two nightmares to fight with, dammit: "Waaaaaaalt, we all floooooooat down heeeeeere." *shudder*

Dark Disciple | Apr 7, 2008 1:29:57 PM | #

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Sweet, here come the Pennywise nightmares again. Only took me years to shake them the first time. This'll be fun. And with the "mayhap" reference, maybe I can throw Mordred Deschain in there as well.

Ryan | Apr 7, 2008 1:30:59 PM | #

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Glad I could contribute as my King-sian influences are constantly asserting themselves. Stephen, if you're reading this, I'm already working on the possessed Aunt Jemima bottle story so back off man!

Brian of the North | Apr 7, 2008 1:51:52 PM | #

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...Brian could smell the acrid odor of burnt waffles, noticing that the waffle iron had shorted out from the heat of being left unattended. The afternoon sunlight streamed through the window over the sink, lighting up the smoke that hung in the air. Sally sat at the kitchen table, seemingly staring at the crooked smile, made up of the burnt crust, caused by the batter overflowing from the still hot griddle. "Sally?" Brian reached out slowly to touch her, knowing already that something was terribly wrong with the angle of her head. She hadn't moved since he had entered the house. His hand trembled as his arm telegraphed itself out towards his sisters shoulder, anticipating what death would feel like. The vacant stare on her face was betrayed by the tears that hung on her cheeks. As Brian pulled his dead sister to him, his tears mingling with hers, he notices that they are not tears at all but a sweet, sticky syrup. From the cupboard he hears the soft giggling that he remembered from the commercials. His head turns toward the painted kitchen cupboard to see it slightly askew. Peering into the gap, squinting he can make out the shiny glass face looking back at him.

Brian of the North | Apr 7, 2008 2:10:21 PM | #

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as one who sometimes has insanely scary, intesnse, and highly detailed dreams with plotlines, subplots, and story-arcs which make NO sense whatsoever THANK YOU for my impending nightmare.

:-)

ps - just for fun: one crazy dream i had about 15 years ago was this: i was hunting Dracula, who was out to get me b/c he had been dating my mother and i convinced her to break up with him. i "vanquished" him standing in a bathtub holding a half-dead fern standing in an inch of what i thought was holy water. turns out, once you stand in it, it's not so holy. so then we had a long drawn out battle involving a pair of scissors and a can of Scrubbing Bubbles, which turned into a discussion, and i convinced him to kill himself.

the end.

mri | Apr 7, 2008 2:10:38 PM | #

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mri--I had that experience too! It was called "Lost Boys".

Brian of the North | Apr 7, 2008 2:26:16 PM | #

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BOTN-

trust me dude, it was nowhere near Lost Boys. i left out the parts about Burger King and the phone number code on the Good Year blimp. Keifer and the Coreys were nowhere to be found...

mri | Apr 7, 2008 2:28:48 PM | #

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I've never actually had nightmares about Tim Curry in a clown suit with fangs (don't understand the whole fear of clown thing, to be truthful), but I've had a recurring one where I'm in an underground cavern containing a deep lake and a wooden bridge; just as I'm reaching the middle of the span, a loud VOG (that's Voice of God, for non-theatre majors/minors) intones, "I am the Lord of the Lake!" and proceeds to knock me and whoever I happen to be traveling with at the time off the bridge into the water. No Pennywise waiting to help me flooooooooat, but disturbing nonetheless. I mention this only because during one of these sojourns, Evangeline Lilly/Kate was walking ahead of me, and I was too busy checking out her shorts to notice the Hand of God come down and knock me sideways. Something Freudian there, I'm sure...

Dark Disciple | Apr 7, 2008 2:49:17 PM | #

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I am glad yall brought up the movie that turned me to screenwriting and filmmaking all together: The Lost Boys.. but I digress.

I have been holding back on the King references, but I can't now... I am reading The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger for the first time and I am collecting all of King's works. I have read some King novel's in the past, but I am just drawn to his storytelling nowadays thanks to LOST. I hope I don't run across any spoilers here... So I might would have to wander away for awhile to avoid them.

I don't have anything to say now about LOST, except Ryan noticing the Dharma connection to the Temple. Does anyone think that the station that was supposed to be revealed this season s actually the Temple?

Mark O. Estes | Apr 7, 2008 6:47:56 PM | #

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just testing bold and italics

bold
italics

Rishi | May 21, 2008 3:57:21 PM | #

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now underlining

underline

Rishi | May 21, 2008 3:57:55 PM | #

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testing

testing

Rishi | May 22, 2008 12:14:37 AM | #

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