'Lost' Theory! 'A Tale of Two Cities,' indeed
Nov 9, 2006, 05:26 PM | by Jeff Jensen
Categories: 'Lost'
Howdy, folks. I'll let you guys continue debating the merits of last night's Lost and the whole I'm-getting-fed-up-with-all-the-darn-stalling! thing over in the TVWatch message boards. But being that I'm crazy with the theories, I couldn't help but want to get this out there -- a big new theory inspired by last night's episode, the last installment for, like, three freakin' months. (Maybe not a great idea, in retrospect.)
Remember all the speculation last season about the possibility that maybe there were two groups of Others? To wit, there was one group out in the jungle still connected to The Dharma Initiative, and another group opposed to Dharma, and both were harrassing (or maybe helping) our castaways. The debate was kinda abandoned at some point during the Henry Gale storyline. But if we return to the idea, Season 3 reveals itself.
(Read Doc Jensen's big new theory after the jump. Spoilers from last night's episode abound.)
1. Two months ago -- that is to say, when Oceanic 815 came tumbling down from the sky -- ALL of the Others lived together in an idyllic commune, to the north of the island. (This is the meaning of the passage on Mr. Eko's stick; it is directing Locke and co. to where they can find the village that we saw in the season premiere.) Let's call this larger body The Collective.
2. The leader of the Collective is the mysterious He/Him, referred to by Mr. Friendly and "Henry Gale" last season. He/Him is all about the lists, the kidnapping of the kids, and the fixation with good people/bad people. This leader could very well be "Patchy," fleetingly seen last episode on one of the monitors in the Pearl station.
2a. My theory? The Collective was originally part of Dharma, whose purpose is to save the world from destruction by bringing people to "enlightenment." (See: The Lost Experience from this past summer.) The mission is multi-faceted, radical, and radically weird. It could include testing experimental new forms of education. For example, the castaways could be an object lesson in social dyamics for all those kidnapped kids, who are watching the drama via mental telepathy. (I think the kids are responsible for the whispering voices.) I also think that the initiative involves a great deal of psychodrama, with the members of the Collective playing various antagonistic roles designed to motivate the test subjects to action. But with that said, they are barred from ripping away the curtain and revealing themselves; all this change toward enlightenment MUST happen organically, or at least seem to.
3. Juliet was the sister of Ethan, the Claire-abducting Other from season one. Goodwin, the Other killed by Ana Lucia in season two, was married to Mr. Friendly. Yep: Tom is gay. Hence, the "You're not my type" comment to Kate in the season premiere.
4. At some point, there was a schism within the Collective pertaining to the policy toward the castways. Specifically, there was a growing bitterness toward the castaways in light of the killings of Goodwin and Ethan. The dissenting group -- the Others -- wanted revenge.
5. Number One, who clearly wielded a hyper-controlling, svengali-like hold on the Collective, opposed the Others' demand for bloody justice. To be clear, the Collective's mission is high-stakes enough to permit killing; Goodwin had to murder one of the Tailies to protect his mission. But vengeance is another matter altogether -- not permitted. (As for Ethan, remember: he became obsessed with Claire and went totally off mission.)
6. Ben was the Number Two of the Collective. He agreed to help the Others escape the rule of Number One, in exchange for a promise -- to coerce Jack into operating on his tumor.
7. At some point, the rebellion took place. The Others skipped away to the other island. This is the true meaning behind the title of the season premiere, "A Tale of Two Cities." It pertains specifically to the fact there are two encampments of Others, each very different and in ideological conflict with each other. The castaways are caught in the middle.
8. Since the split, the Others have been pursuing a two-fold mission:
a. making good on their promise to Ben;
b. executing a plan of eye-for-an-eye vengeance against those who have killed Others among the castways: Ana Lucia, Sawyer, Charlie -- and now, Sun.
9. It's possible that Ben's initial plan to get healed from his cancer was to become part of the castaway beach encampment. Remember how the island seems to have healing powers? (See: Locke's legs, Rose's cancer.) My hunch is that the healing power is linked to the "unique electro-magnetic energy," which radiates only from the beach section of the island. When Ben was exposed as an Other, his plan was to shot to heck. Also, I think the Hatch was shielded from the effects of the energy, which is why it had no effect on Ben while he was incarcerated there.
PREDICTIONS
A. Juliet is going to help Kate and Sawyer escape -- although the deal is that she gets to go with them. Her goal: to get back to the beach and kill Charlie, who killed her brother, Ethan.
B. Juliet will gain the trust of the Beach Camp by outing a spy in their midst -- perhaps this mysterious Jacob fellow name-dropped in last night's episode. With their trust gained, Juliet will take advantage of it to try and kill Charlie.
C. Ben's whole "I want to change your perspective, Jack" line may be rooted in a kind of reality. If I'm right that the Collective has/had a benevolent mission, and Ben's only interest in being with the Others is his operation, Ben might still be sympathetic to that mission. I bet Jack performs the surgery on Ben. Ben survives, and then makes good on his promise to Jack by helping him escape the Others.
Okay: Here's where you shoot this theory down. You might as well. We have nothing else to do for three months.
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