'Lost': Dissecting the Season 5 teaser trailer

There are many pros and cons about being known as "the Lost blogger." Sure, I'm far from the only one, but those who know me (in real life or virtually) pretty much know me first and foremost as "the Lost blogger." I kinda wish they'd opt for "the super awesome dude," but hey, beggars can't be choosers. But every once in a while, being known as "the Lost blogger" has its benefits, as when a few hundred people simultaneously sent me emails with the title "Lost Season 5 Trailer OMG!!!" late last week. Even my grandmother sent me one, which astounded me in that I wasn't aware she knew about either Lost or the internet.

Many of you have already seen said teaser trailer: I myself first learned about it thanks to a thread started by reader JeffC over at the Zap2It's Guide to Lost's Facebook group. But for those of you who haven't seen it, or are craving analysis/discussion of said trailer, here it is, with my take below. All time references are to the video embedded below.

0:00 - 0:30 -- Just a rehash of Season 4. Nothing new there, except a handy reminder that the Oceanic 6 left on Day 108. Just in case they needed to clang that anvil even louder.

0:30 -- 0:39 -- A slightly recut version of the final scene of Season 4, with Indiana Linus and Suicide Beard Shephard talking over Locke's corpse. Except, hey, notice that little flash at 0:39? Says "Dharma Initiative," aside the logo from the ARG. What ARG, you ask? Trust me, some things are better left unsaid.

0:40 -- Locke's on the ground, on the Island, with an off-screen figure holding a rifle at his noggin. The Soon to Be Bentham has this great, "This wasn't in the job description" look on his face. Perhaps there's an Other that's a little less than happy about his leadership? Or has someone else found their way to the recently moved Island?

0:40 -- Charlotte gives Daniel a worried look. So much for him existing in a different time period than those on the Island when it disappeared, I guess. This video seemed to indicate otherwise, which gave rise to various theories that Faraday might have transported back to the Dharma Initiative's heyday when the sky went purple. Then again, just wait, there's more coming soon in this trailer.

0:40 -- Another flash of the "Dharma Initiative" atop Jack's depressed mug, telling Ben that John wants them all to go back to the Island.

0:42: -- Juliet's digging in the dirt (to find the places she got hurt). What she uncovers is small and metallic: another hatch? A time capsule? Voltron? Take your best guess below!

0:43 -- Oh, hey Daniel. Nice Dharma mining cap you got there. Why might you be spelunking? Are you in one of the underground vents mentioned in the Blast Door Map? Looking to tame a smoke monster? And what's so interesting about that particular rock formation he's about to touch? No answers? OK, then. Say hi to yer mutha for me!

0:44 -- Looks like Locke's tied up against a tree, with Richard Alpert walking towards him with a torch. Some sort of initiation ceremony, perhaps: an Island-based version of the panchen lama (Alpert) awakening the dalai lama (Locke). (See here for greater context of the Buddhist backdrop to this relationship.) After all, what is a lama if not a teacher of Dharma? Makes sense in which the season that should finally explain the role of the Dharma Initiative should also use such a ceremony in order to shed light on some of the mysteries of the Island as well.

0:46 -- Looks like Locke holding a compass in his bloody hands. In keeping with the Alpert/Locke dynamic, here's a quiz: where have we seen this compass before?  Exactly. Cue the hairs standing up on the back o' my neck.

0:49 -- Cue the montage of the Oceanic 6, featuring a newly shaved Jack (bye, bye, beard) and a gun-wielding Hugo. That's right, Hurley's got a gun. His whole world's come undone. Sure hope he don't shoot Sun. Then again, if the Island needs her, said gun wouldn't work anyways. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

0:53 -- Sayid tells someone (most likely Hurley) that they need to get to the safe house. Is the safe house Casa Linus? This could turn into the weirdest version of Big Brother ever.

0:57 -- Sun is trapped inside what looks to be an office of some sorts. Guess that business merger with Widmore isn't working out the way she intended?

0:58 -- "Can we go to Disney, Mommy?" "No, because Mommy just found out Uncle Jack is going somewhere, and so Mommy's going too. It's kind of Mommy's thing. You can meet Mickey next year. Maybe."

1:00 --  As Jack talks about those "left behind," we see shirtless Sawyer, Juliet leading Charlotte and Miles in the jungle, a group of survivors still on the beach, and Juliet, Faraday, Miles, and Charlotte standing in the jungle at night alongside Sawyer, who still hasn't managed to find his shirt yet. Can I say: I LOVE the idea of Sawyer/Juliet working together as de facto leaders of Those Left Behind, with the Freighter Folk still there acting as a resource for knowledge into the Island's history. Between their insight and Alpert's imparting of wisdom onto Locke, we should learn a lot about the Island as it goes straight to hell in a hand basket this season.

1:04 -- Whoa, what's up with the hazmat-wearing, rifle-arming person doing busting out of a hatch and scaring poor ol' Faraday? Given the shot here, I can't tell if it's a new hatch, or if Faraday's tunnel visit somehow leads to said "exotic matter" seen at the end of Season 4, sending him Marty McFly-esque back in time.

1:06 -- Hey, Beechcraft! Long time no see. Last time I saw you, you were sitting atop the Pearl, burnt to a crisp. And yet here you are, falling from the sky as yellow as the day you were born. We either have some time-traveling going on here or Locke revisiting his greatest hits on the Island. (Maybe we'll see this after the "Stuff Locke Exploded So No One Could Leave the Island" montage.)

1:07 -- Ben Linus: "Well, thank God for second chances." Now, anyone who believes Ben's in this simply to save the Island is smoking some stuff they shouldn't be smoking, according to the laws of most civilized countries. We know, for instance, that he wants to kill Penny Widmore as revenge for the loss of Alex. Could returning to the Island merely be a long con to get her into the fray? Or will she simply enter the picture as an added bonus to his true goal: a return to his beloved? In any case, look for the paths of Ben and Penny to slowly converge as Season 5 progresses.

***

All in all, this is a teaser trailer, through and through, with an emphasis on the "tease." That's fine in order to whet our appetites for the upcoming season, but makes it near impossible to draw conclusions without spoilers. So as I open this up for discussion, I once again state our basic "no spoiler" policy here on the blog. If ABC hasn't announced it, it doesn't exist as far as we're concerned. So please honor that system as you drop your own theories and conjectures about this teaser trailer.

A few things stand out:

Looks like we have three main narrative thrusts: The Oceanic 6 returning to the island, Locke's ascension to head of the Others, and Juliet/Sawyer's struggle to keep the Lostaways alive. These three plots converge over the as-yet-undescribed events that led Locke to leave the Island and (apparently) commit suicide soon after confronting the Oceanic 6. If I were a betting man, I'd put a few dollars down on Abaddon being in the middle of all the adversity in Season 5.

If Season 1 was about the survivors, Season 2 about the Hatch, Season 3 about the Others, and Season 4 about the Widmore/Linus conflict, then Season 5 should be about the Dharma Initiative. This leaves Season 6 to be about the Island, as the big mysteries of the show (smoke monster, Jacob, Claire's absence) finally get explained. This season will focus more on the DI, both back in the day and in its most recent reincarnation. (The word "reincarnation" was used purposely there, as a way to tie in Locke's arc as the man of faith with the DeGroots' arc as the man/woman of science.)

Also, think about this: remember Faraday's first in-show appearance? He's watching the discovery of Oceanic 815 on the bottom of the Sunda Trench, sad for reasons even he can't explain. What if that scene actually happens AFTER everything he goes through this year? It's still chronologically accurate, but he's experienced things in the past...things that won't happen in his frame of reference until this season. Just food for thought.

But enough about what I think: now it's your turn. What stood out in this teaser trailer? What excited you the most? What are your biggest questions about Season 5?

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 leave questions for the producers and cast of Lost here.

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