LOST in Translation: Major Season 6 Spoilers

HERE BE SPOILERS
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

The premiere LOST Fan Site is a little place called DarkUFO. Dark has access to some terrific insider information and his confidential informants never cease to thrill and entertain the LOST devoted with insights, snippets, and spoilers often parceled out throughout the various seasons we find ourselves in.

As a sort of Christmas present to the LOST Faithful a game of Hangman was offered up with a slow procession of letters revealed at calculated intervals. Now that the puzzle has been revealed in full, it’s time to give it a closer look.

A CHESS GAME IS AN APT ANALOGY AS WHITE AND BLACK MANIPULATE THE PAWNS. THE EYELINED ONE IS TORN, AS “SAMUEL” AIDS HIM, BUT FOR A PRICE.

White and Black are obviously Jacob and MIB, two men locked in some kind of philosophical conflict and their weapons are the survivors of Flight 815, among others. “Samuel” is code for MIB and it appears based on this spoiler that he and Richard have a connection. Other spoilers have placed them both on the Black Rock, so it will be interesting to see what dilemma befalls our unaging and enigmatic friend that he would be forced to turn to MIB for aid.

ALDO, DOGEN, MARTIN, LENNON, AND OMAR ARE NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD. SOME FALL TO A TRAINED SOLDIER WHILE OTHERS DISCOVER THEIR DARK SIDES FOR THE FIRST TIME.

The “trained soldier” is a reference to Sayid. Nice to know that he’ll be returning true-to form in season 6. As to the “others discovering their dark sides”, I believe this is a reference to the survivors being drawn into the conflict and taking sides in the Jacob/MIB conflict.

OTHERS THOUGHT GONE REAPPEAR, INCLUDING AN ATTENDANT AND TWO YOUNGSTERS.

Ah, the return of Cindy the Flight Attendant and the two kids, Zach and Emma.

DISCOVERIES ARE MADE. JONATHAN ACCOMPANIED BY JIM FORD READ THE CRUCIAL WRITING ON THE WALL, LITERALLY. THE LATTER FROM ABOVE STUMBLES ONTO A MACABRE PILE, “KENDALL” AND A TRAP SPRUNG SEVERAL TIMES.

John Locke and Sawyer, together again… and they are to discover the heart of the matter. I assume the “macabre pile” to be a reference to the Dharma Massacre pit, filled with the remains of Sawyers’ old friends.  The “writing on the wall” will reveal the “trap”, which is that Jacob and MIB’s conflict has brought people to this island for centuries to take part in their little war. Could “Kendall” be the missing part of the Trimurti? Is she the Creator? Is she the “mother” to these two warring “brothers”? Could she be the physical embodiment of Tawaret herself?

LANDING BRINGS MIXED BLESSINGS. CHRISTIAN’S A GRANDFATHER, A CHANCE ROMANTIC DATE ISN’T REALLY BY CHANCE AT ALL, AND ALTHOUGH MANY OLD FRIENDS CROSS PATHS, NORWOOD IS NOT TO BE A LOCKE NOR JAZEEM A JARRAH.

As expected, the Alternate Reality in which the Survivors of 815 actually make it to LAX does not exactly mean that they all live happily ever after. Helen and John Locke do not get their happy ending, and neither do Nadia and Sayid. The more interesting part of the above spoiler pertains to Christian Sheppard. We already know he’s a grandfather via Claire and Aaron, but this seems to refer to Jack becoming a father. As has been hinted at in other spoilers, the AltReality Jack seems to have a kid that he will visit, but I think it goes deeper than that. I believe that Kate was pregnant when they returned to the Island by way of Ajira 316, that she was Claire’s proxy on that flight. It makes one wonder what the ramifications of this will be.

AND SOMEWHERE, LITTLETON KILLS KATE… ALMOST.

Looks like Claire and Kate are destined to have a serious misunderstanding.

BUT WHOSE SIDE IS ANYONE REALLY ON?

Good question. AltReality aside, the Jacob/MIB conflict is going to heat up and the Survivors are going to choose sides and be at war with one another. Does anyone doubt that this is going to be one epic endgame? In 40 days from now we’ll find out…

LOST in Translation: It’s All a Game

Two players… Two sides… One is Light… One is Dark…

Do you want to know a secret?

LOST returns February 2 on ABC.

LOST in Translation: Island Bound

ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE ISLAND, PART II

Notice the missing corner piece.

Curiouser and curiouser…

The bottom tier of the tapestry, once you’ve added the missing piece, shows Egyptian ships coming to the Island and its towering Tawaret statue.

Reading from the bottom up, it paints a clear picture.

The translation reads:

In Greek, it says
“May heaven grant you in all things your heart’s desire”
which is a quote from Homer’s Odyssey

While the Heiroglyphs translate roughly as
“May the gods grant you happiness.”

Okay, Jacob… what are you really up to?

LOST in Translation: Nothing’s Forever

Tyler Stout’s poster was revealed last night at Gallery 88.

Time to pore over this for clues…

LOST in Translation: All Roads Lead to the Island

ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE ISLAND?

Last night I had a dream… a dream about LOST. I suspect that once one begins dreaming about a television show that you are slipping into a whole other level of obsession, but we’ll ponder that delicate subject at some later date and time. For now, perhaps, we should take from my subconscious what kernels of truth we can.

In this dream I had stumbled upon a website with clips from the upcoming sixth season. So, not only was I dreaming about LOST, but I was dreaming about being on the computer, and by extension, dreaming about searching for LOST Spoilers on said computer — Houston, I think we have a problem.

Anyway, these clips made little sense as they seemed to depict the Castaways in different roles… There was Sawyer the Con-Man. Sawyer the Cop. Sawyer the Head of Dharma Security. And on and on… and not only him, but others in various roles, when it dawned on me (in the dream) that these Castaways, throughout not only Time, but in various incarnations in an infinite number of realities were… doomed… cursed… compelled… destined… to end up on the Island, eternally enslaved to the Game being played between Jacob and the Man in Black.

Season Six would lead us to this final confrontation between Light and Dark with neither side winning once the pawns in this cosmic chess match finally realized the nature of the conflict and removed themselves from play.

Then, just as the big reveal was about to be unveiled, I of course woke up. The dream had been so vivid that I wasn’t convinced that it had been a dream at all. I got out of bed and sat down at the PC and checked my browsing history to be sure.

Nope. Just a dream…

But still, one has to wonder… do all roads lead to the Island? Of course they do. Not only for the characters in this tele-drama, but seemingly for those of us obsessed as well.

When Groundhog Day rolls around I don’t think I need wonder if I will see my shadow or not.

LOST in Translation: Getting Anxious

Is it February 2nd yet?

LOST in Translation: Faith + Science

It’s what I’ve been saying all along…

The Decade’s Best, Part I

We near the end of another decade and I thought it was time for some reflection. It was a monumental one for me. I got married, had a child, and became an uncle. I said goodbye to friends, family, mentors, and heroes who passed from this world to the next. I stormed Scotland. I braved Disneyworld. And I chased ghosts… lots and lots of ghosts.

I published two novels, dozens of short stories, a handful of comics, and I saw my artwork grace the covers of a whole host of works by some of my favorite writers in the field.

And in a decade that saw me turn forty, I can honestly say it has been the best decade of my life.

I have a lot to be thankful for, but even more to look forward to. I can only hope that the next decade is as magical as this one has been.

Now, let’s close this blog entry out with a bang with the Decade’s Best in Television Entertainment (according to yours truly):

***

THE BEST TELEVISION OF THE ‘OO’s

1. LOST

Not only the best show of the first decade into the 21st Century, but the best show ever. It’s mythic in scope — epic in vision — and all-out mindblowing in execution. It is an action packed adventure on an Island littered with rabbit holes that lead the viewer to ponder theoretical physics, comparative mythology, classical literature, and Jungian psychology. LOST is the proverbial enigma wrapped inside a riddle, but at its heart, LOST is about characters and therein lies the hook.

2. Supernatural

The 21st Century’s answer to the Hardy Boys, Sam and Dean Winchester are caught up in the ultimate battle between good and evil. Sure, they hunt and slay ghosts, monsters, and demons, but it’s more than that. Supernatural is about family ties… the bond of brotherhood… and it’s about the strength found in that bond that carries you through, even when faced with the deepest and darkest horrors imaginable.

3. Veronica Mars

If Supernatural is a modern take on the Hardy Boys, then Veronica Mars is this Century’s Nancy Drew. It lasted only three seasons, but television has rarely been better. Veronica Mars was smart, whitty, and everything you could ask for, with compelling mysteries and fantastic characters that week in and week out left you begging for more. It was a crime that it wasn’t renewed for a fourth season, but the three we were blessed with still resonate.

4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel

It’s hard not to bow down at the altar of Joss Whedon. He turned the world on its ear with the creation of the Slayer, a teenage girl destined to battle the forces of evil while quipping wisecracks and maintaining an impeccable fashion sense. Add the stoic Angel into the mix — a vampire curshed with a soul — and you have not one, but two shows that reinvented the genre and made an indelable mark on pop culture.

5. Survivor

The ultimate reality show, Survivor took the world by storm by taking a group of normal, everyday people and sticking them in the middle of nowhere in a fierce competition for One Million Dollars. A psychological experiment played out for our entertainment, we watched as these survivors manuevered, plotted, and schemed against one another, hoping to outwit, outlast, and outplay their teammates to win the coveted monetary reward. Rarely has watching 16 people slowly starve to death been more fun.

***

There you go, kids. Chew on those for a bit and watch for my ruminations on the Best of the Decade in both Movies and Books in the days to come... and please accept my thanks for helping to make the start of the twenty-first century one for the ages.

LOST in Translation: Today’s Ruminations

What is the Island?

It’s a fair question and strikes at the very heart of the show. Darlton have insinuated that this is a mystery that will not be revealed, but we would not be the obsessive fans we are if we didn’t ponder this — Lost’s greatest mystery.

To be honest, there has always been a part of me — deeply buried in the bleakest corner of the attic of my mind — that feared (yes, I said it) that the reveal would be that the Island was an alien spacecraft — trapped earthbound for centuries — with arcane science made available to those who call it their home. The source of the medical miracles and troubling phantasm, the Island as spacecraft answers so many troubling questions. Magic is, after all, merely science yet discovered to the uninitiated.

In the end, I don’t think Darlton will play this card. No, I think they realize that, like me, a more mystical explanation is more satisfying — more fulfilling — and ultimately more resonating. Lost speaks to the soul… to that part of us longing to stare into the abyss and come away with knowledge of the divine.

So, to the Island, with its menagerie of magical and religious iconic symbolism, I ascribe the belief that it is a waystation of mythical ideals… an embodiment of “The Garden of Eden” if you will.

There is someone behind the curtain, but that someone is neither Jacob nor the Man in Black. That someone is yet to be revealed, and it will be central to season six.

Jacob and the Man in Black?

”We read in Plato that daemons are assigned to men at the moment of their birth, that thenceforward they accompany men through life, and that after death they conduct their souls to Hades.” — Myth Index (referencing Plato, Phaedr. p. 107)

Light and Dark. Good and Evil. The Preserver and the Destroyer. The Castaways are the Chess Pieces. The Island is the Chess Board. Jacob and the Man in Black are the Gamesmen of Lost… two players… one white — one black.. Each have their philosphies. Law vs Chaos. Freewill vs Destiny. One is the Shepherd, the other the Wolf.

Canton-Rainier

5th Season, Episode 4. Remember it? The Little Prince? So many juicy revelations. We saw a young Danielle and her French Compatriots reach the Island after rescuing the time-challenged Jin Kwon… and of course, Locke and Sawyer have their own moments, witnessing Locke’s crisis of faith and the birth of Aaron… But the real kicker came in an anagram on the side of the truck used to transport Locke’s dead body.

Canton-Rainier.

Reincarnation.

Foreshadowing of Season 6 I surmise. Our Castaways are on an epic journey, one that they have been on for a very long time and not just in one life, but in many. Alternate realities, time-traveling, and yes, through reincarnation, these Chess Pieces have been manuevered in the ultimate game.

With Season 6 we will at last have the answers, and those answers all point to the unseen hand of the Man Behind the Curtain. The Brahma to Jacob the Preserver and MIB the Destroyer.

Where and how will it all end?

LOST in Translation: Fan-Made Trailers

Here are a couple of interesting Fan-Made Trailers…

As of today, we have 55 more to wait until the end begins.

Will it be some sort of Joycean Finnegan’s Wake,
with the final scene taking us back to where we started
like an Ouroborus swallowing its own tail?

Destiny awaits… and so do I.