Others' Child Protection Agency

A new podcast available on the Lost Podcasting Network is simply awesome and has given me the seeds of a wicked new theory. The podcast is "The LOST Mystery Podcast with Anton and Evan." The concept is Evan has watched Lost and Anton is watching it for the first time. They watch the episode and then run down all their thoughts about it.

On episode 2-1, Anton said the way the Others always took the children was like CPS taking them out of a dangerous situation. As if psychological experiments, torture, hunger, and terror were part of a business model of Ben's. Ben's investors said all this is fine to do to the plane crash victims, as long as all the children were first taken out of harm's way.

So the Others quickly brought the children to safety and put them in foster care. They were then free to unleash the smoke monster, polar bears or any other terrors on the Lostaways.

This theory makes so much sense to me. It explains how we might be able to tolerate Juliette for another season. Last season, I kept saying to myself, "She steals children in the middle of the night! With no explanations! How can you people let her live with you on the beach??" It's a different story if the Others did this to remove the children from a situation that was sure to get more and more dangerous.

Add this to my last post, which posited Ben was the show's hero and Widmore the big bad, and Ben has an even stronger position as a hero. Now if I only knew how he was saving the world / making money for his investors by unleashing a mechanical smoke monster on plane crash victims...

Lost Power Struggle Is A Classic Tale

It's time for a new theory in anticipation of the Jan. 21 commencement of Lost season 5. In a previous post, I mentioned the importance of Horus, an Ancient Egyptian god. I would like to widen this theory a bit, and return to Ancient Egypt for answers to Lost's infinite questions.

Osiris is the father of Horus, and the legend of Osiris is one of what Neil Gaiman (one of my faves) calls the "great stories." Great in that the characters, names and times may change, but the fundamental story appears again and again in human supernatural myths across cultures: the just king murdered by his cruel brother, only to be avenged by the prince who follows in his father's footsteps.

In the Ancient Egyptian telling, Osiris was killed by his jealous brother, Set. After the slaying, Osiris' wife, Isis, hid their son Horus on an island where Set could not find him. On his island, Horus grew to manhood and strength. Set sent many serpents and demons to kill Horus, but he defeated them. Horus soon challenged Set's throne and, after a battle of many days, Horus defeated and castrated Set. Meanwhile, Isis was able to resurrect Osiris, but he could not return to the land of the living. Thus Osiris went to Duat, where Anubis yielded the throne to him and he became the lord of the dead.

So...how to connect this to Lost. Taking into account the fact that Carlton Cuse called Charles Widmore "the big bad," I think he is Set. Ben Linus is Osiris - the son who was hidden away on an island and is now exacting revenge. Ben is also the age that a son of Widmore would be. Ben's father then is Jacob, who raised him on the island and from whom he takes orders - having never respected his birth father. We can also assume Ben was chosen as Jacob's "son" by the original Others when he passed a test that Locke (the Others' first choice) had failed.

The Island Is A Machine

After four months of intensive study and reflection, I finally figured out what the Lost finale means. Actually, it was four months of mostly goofing around, and then I drop the soap in the shower, stand up and scream, "Yes! That's it!"

Or did I steal this idea from a friend? No matter. Today's theory: The Island Is One Big Machine. The smoke monster is its arms and legs. This explains why the smoke monster makes that mechanical sound. Because it is part of the machine that is the island. Also why Ben can turn a wheel and move the island. The island is not igneous rock and dirt, but clockworks and gears inside!

Of course, it was conceived of by Alvar Hanso and the Hanso Foundation, funded and built by Charles Widmore, and then run by the Dharma Initiative. I'm thinking the purpose of the Dharma Initiative was to conduct research so that these islands could be built and sold around the world.

Imagine the fortunes to be made if you could build an island that any millionaire could plop down in the middle of the ocean. It has several built-in security systems (smoke monster and sonic alarms) to give that extra protection only the ultra-rich need.

But then some kid from the Dharma Initiative discovered the secret. He killed everyone who knew and moved the island. For all we know, he has been manufacturing and selling islands for the last 10 years -- which is how Ben Linus has made all his money (that the Freighties say he has).

The Losties mission is clear: Find the hidden blueprints and take control of the island!