Season 5: Episode 1 (Because You Left)

This week’s episode explains the big mystery at the core of LOST. The Island, as it turns out, occupies a unique place in the universe enabling time/space travel. We are now being told quite clearly that one of the goals of the Dharma Initiative was to manipulate time or time/space travel.

One rule of time/space travel are also imparted to us courtesy of Daniel Faraday and the Dharma Initiative scientist identified, at times, as Doctor Hollowax, is that the past can not be changed through time travel. Instead, one can move backwards and forward, but the key events as they actually happened can not be changed.

Desmond is apparently an exception to this rule for, as yet, unknown reasons: maybe its him or maybe its everyone with a Scottish accent who hooks up with a mega-wealthy and beautiful heiress. Th extent to which Desmond is exempt from the rules is unclear. Although Faraday states that events can’t be changed, he seems to believe that by telling Desmond certain things to do events will actually be changed: very confusing and potentially contradictory.

Another rule of time/space travel on the Island appears to be that the people you were with when you start time/space travel stay with you but the objects and other people around you change. This seems to be the case with the Survivors on the Island since they appear to time/space travel as a group with other people (like the Others and the Nigerian drug smuggling plane) and objects (though never apparently the Island’s vegetation or topography) change all around them. As one moves through time/space travel, they appear to retain their physical characteristics including newly developed wounds like the one resulting from Ethan Rom’s gunshot wound of Locke.

Thus, a person’s immunity from death like Michael exhibited when he was off the Island prior to the freighter’s explosion appears to be a function of an immutable “historical” truth. Until a character performs the key event in their life as it relates to the Island, they can not be terminated (i.e., die). In a prior posting, I referred to this as a mission (see Season 4: Season Finale: Analysis No. 1). Given the new information, it might be more appropriate to refer to it is the immutable facts of a person’s existence or their destiny. In this regard, it is not clear that Locke is actually dead and certainly not irretrievably so (this is LOST after all) since Benjamin Linus is seeking to return his dead body to the Island.

LOST also now overtly states that destiny lies at the heart of the Survivors’ fate. Each one of the Survivors has a destiny attached to the Island and, it is quite possible, if not highly likely, that the destiny is a joint or intertwined one which they share. This is suggested by, among other things, the need of all of them to return to the Island together and the remaining survivors on the Island time traveling together.

This episode also clarifies that the Island has long been a special place for such time/space travel or similar effects based upon the Island’s unique properties for a very long period of time. We now know that the Dharma wheel at the base of the Orchid Station pre-dated the Dharma Initiative and appears to be quite ancient.

Charlotte begins to bleed from under her nose. If my memory serves me correctly, this type of bleeding was, in past episodes associated with already dead people like Dr. Good speed’s appearance to Locke in the jungle and people on the freighter who were suffering from the effects of time/space travel. In other words, if things go on course, Charlotte will be dead at least in the conventional sense soon.

The Island itself appears to have been fought over many times in the past. The identity of the people shooting flaming arrows at the Survivors is not clear. They could have been part of the Keamy/Widmore expedition though Keamy is noticeably absent from their midst. Alternatively, they have could belonged to another military expedition to the Island or defending the Island in either the past or the future.

In the end, one of the key questions, as articulated by Locke as he was time traveling was “when am I ?” Each scene we observe has to be preceded by the question of when in the time line the events depicted are actually taking place.

New questions:

1. Who is the Asian woman in bed and who is the person feeding her baby when she wakes? The woman appears ro be the wife of Dr. Hollowax, the Dharama Initiative official and the woman appears to be his wife. Alternatively, the woman is Sun and she is with Jin or some other man. This is not impossible given that if past events (i.e., those in Season Four) are replayed and the Survivors are not on the Freighter when it blows up, Sun is alive and living on the Island with Jin. The choice of music played by Sun’s companion might also indicate that the person is Sawyer or simply that they like hokey music.

2. Why was the Dharma Wheel buried underneath many feet (or miles) of rock? The Dharma Wheel had been built long ago to harness the Island’s unique energy or time/space profile. It was likely part of the complex which included the oft referred to “Temple” as well as the huge foot of a statue (with four toes) previously sited in the Island. Some mishap caused a meltdown or earthquake of sorts with the result that the Dharma Wheel was buried and maybe the rest of the statue was toppled.

3. What is Faraday doing at the building of the Orchid? Time traveling (duh!); after all he is an expert on time traveling. The precise reason he time traveled is unknown especially since elsewhere in the episode he states with authority that time travel an not change key events. Faraday’s beard, however, appears to be a “constant.”

4. What is the true scope of Benjamin Linus’ authority? Back in civilization he reports to a woman previously identified as a sheriff of sorts in judging the case of Julia for sedition in connection with enabling the escape of Kate and Sawyer. She appears to be Linus’ superior and also appears to be a religious official of some sort.

5. Which group arranged for Sayyid to be shot with a dart and why ? The Freighter or Widmore group did this because he has been killing their members at Linus’ direction. If they wanted to kill Sayyid they would have shot him with a bullet as is generally done by assassins. The drat likely contains a tranquilizer meaning that Widmore has a reason for wanting to take Sayyid alive.


Interesting tidbits/facts

1. Faraday was present in the form of a workman at the time of the Orchid’s construction.

2. Locke sees a plane crash on the Island (which narrowly avoids hitting him) carrying Virgin Mary statuettes (containing drugs); he climbs to the plane in a scene reminiscent of Boone’s fatal ascent and is shot at apparently by Ethan Rom. As Ethan Rom is about to shoot Locke, the Island (or Locke) seem to time travel again with the scenery turning to night. (The same occurs to the remaining Survivors being led by Faraday).

3. Widmore had Sun diverted at the airport at which time he demands respect and begins discussing potential common interests which turn out to be to kill Benjamin Linus.

4. Hurley’s escape from mental asylum is widely reported with the assertion that he is a murderer.

5. It took Widmore 20 years to find the Island the first time.

6. Faraday mentions his mother when communicating a message through Desmond.

7. Light flashes moving time seem to change day to night and night to day

Key Enduring Mysteries

1. Who is Jacob?

2. What is the smoke monster?

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