I was struck this week by how perfect the music is on Lost.
I think it came to mind because I finally watched, “There Will Be Blood” last weekend (why did everyone flip out about that milkshake line? I mean, really!) and the soundtrack reminded me of Lost.
It wasn’t so much that the music sounded like the soundtrack of the Best Show On Television, though there certainly were moments that sounded similar. It was how the music evoked a feeling the moment before the movie did.
Every music change on Lost prepares you for the next moment. It so perfectly sets up the next feeling, emotion.
That was in evidence this week, as the Lighthouse episode answered more bits and pieces and brought us justhismuchcloser to find out what on Earth is going on here.
The numbers
They’re degrees, geographical coordinates. Those numbers had to be punched into the computer over and over and over again for one simple reason: To bring the Losties to the Island and then to keep them there.
Who is 108? We didn’t find out. Maybe it’s Desmond? Or could even be someone we don’t know yet. In fact, for a change, the detail wasn’t so important. It was what the detail brought to us that was – that the Lighthouse was a means for Jacob to monitor all his candidates from their youngest days.
Also, that perhaps the cave on the cliff was not Jacob’s. If he had everyone listed here, in the lighthouse, what need would he have had for that cave? The cave seems more in line with the MiB anyhow. So who killed all those people who are dead? Was it the fault of the MiB or Jacob?
Jack
Look, I know a lot of people don’t like Jack. I’ve alternated back and forth on him myself. But no matter what, Matthew Fox has played him pitch-perfectly.
I wanna know: Who was Jack’s ex? Was it the ex from the pre-explosion life?
We know that Jack always felt he couldn’t live up to his dad. And now we know that in the alternate reality, he felt the same way.
Also interesting: This alternate reality is obviously not quite right. Jack couldn’t remember getting his appendix out. He’s surprised to see the scar. Being a doctor, he knows what a scar like that means. But original timeline Jack never had his appendix out. So this Jack is confused.
That’s the first indication we’ve gotten that this alternate reality is not really an alternate reality. I feel as if it’s going to merge somehow with the original timeline, even though so many things are different. I don’t know how or why, but I just feel it, and the appendix scar was the first thing that really convinced me of that.
But here’s the main issue I’m curious about: Claire. In our alternate reality, they find out upon Jack’s dad’s death that Claire is his sister, because of the will (ok, not yet, but it’s obvious it’s soon). But in the original time stream, Jack only found out because Claire’s mom came to the memorial service.
Christian Shepherd must have had a will in the original timeline. He wasn’t the type of man to not have a will. And we know that in the original timeline he was concerned about Claire. Hell, he died after trying to visit her.
So why was Claire not in his will in our original timeline?
Claire
Speaking of, I’m more convinced than ever that Claire is bat-guano crazy.Which, this being Lost, makes me wonder if she’s crazy at all.
On the one hand, she’s been living alone on the island all this time. That’s enough to make anyone cuckoo. And we know what happened to Rousseau – obviously the same thing as to her.
But, first, I must ask if she’s even really alive?
I also wonder, if there’s this alternate timeline, what if, in this timeline, Aaron IS with the Others. Jin wasn’t with them long enough to have determined a single thing. Ben did take Alex, so Rousseau’s obsession with the Others having taken her baby was completely correct.
What if, in this reality, Claire’s belief that the Others stole Aaron is actually true?
Don’t say it’s ridiculous. This is Lost. The show that has made the ridiculous not only realistic, but fascinating and compelling.
Would love to hear what you all think.
Regarding Claire, Dogen told Jack that the same thing that has happened to Sayid, happened to his sister (Claire). So I wonder if that anything to do with why she is bat-guano crazy?
Okay, I should edit better
I meant to say “has” anything to do with it. But I had another thought, too. The MiB is her “friend”, so he most definitely could have contributed to her descent into insanity.
@Donna –
That definitely is why; remember that Rousseau had a similar descent, and she was convinced her colleagues/friends were crazy and killed them. When she was the one who was crazy. I think the cave in the cliff is actually the MiB’s, and he’s crossed people out as they’ve been killed or otherwise had issues.
Also, I can’t believe I forgot to note that Dogen was at Jack’s son’s school. Another overlap that was meant to be.
Hi Amy,
As far as the Jack character, I have always liked the character from the beginning.
I agree with your analysis on Matthew Fox playing Jack!
Talk to you soon!
I too have never understood all the Jack hate out there. From what I can tell though, it’s mostly on the internet (at least in my RL). But love him or hate him, Matthew Fox has really fashioned a compelling character.
I really really don’t think Aaron is on the island, it just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever to me. And I am kinda sad that Claire is cuckoo bananas. I am hoping that she isn’t, somehow. Weird, considering how I never really cared much one way or the other about her. I didn’t miss her at all last season. But I think she may finally have a storyline that will be interesting to me, so YAY.
Darlton have said that they don’t refer to the LA stuff as an alternate universe, but an alternate timeline, which leads me to believe all the speculation of merging timelines may be correct. I have no freakin’ idea how that could happen, but this is Lost, so pretty much anything could happen, right?
@Michael – While there are times when Jack’s annoyed me, I’ve never really grasped the hatred there is for him out there. Glad you liked it!
@Erika – Even the people I know who hate Jack tend to agree that Matthew Fox has done a good job of him. He is such a broken man, so damaged despite seeming to have it all – good looks, wealth, a gift in his surgical skill.
I also tend to believe there’s no way Aaron is on the island, but I have fits of “Wait, what if THIS is what’s going on” when I think about Lost, because it just makes me that crazy.
I’ve heard Team Darlton say that about not calling it an alternate universe, and I agree. I do just think it’s an alternate timeline. But the crash isn’t the spot where the timeline diverged. I’m curious where the timelines did diverge. And which timeline the island is in right now.
I agree, too about Claire. I didn’t miss her a whit last season, but I got excited when I saw her as a new Rousseau and an awesome storyline she could bite into this season. Kind of like how Charlie was in his final season, where I’d kind of been annoyed with him for quite some time, but was sad by the time he died that he had to die.