LOST: Guys, Where Are We?

The title of this post is the last line spoken in the pilot, and it has led to endless discussion by fans and critics. As I said, there were some rather bizarre aspects of the island seen in the pilot, and things only seemed to get weirder. There are many other downed vehicles on the island (Danielle the French woman's [Mira Furlan] boat, the Black Rock, the propeller plane, and Desmond's [Henry Ian Cusick] sailboat), the ruins of a statue of (most likely) a man, but with only four toes, the various connections between the survivors before arriving on the island, and then there are the other groups of people. There are the Others, who are still on the island, and the DHARMA Initiative, none of whom remain, but their research centers are still intact.

The Others were hinted at throughout Season 1, and they made an appearance in the final moments of the season finale, but it wasn't until the third season when the Others finally had some light shed on them. And yet, despite the addition of two Others, Ben (Michael Emerson) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell), to the cast, they still remain extremely mysterious.

There is even less information about the DHARMA Initiative, since we have never actually met a member in the present. In the episode "The Man Behind the Curtain", which featured flashbacks of Ben, we learn that before he was an Other, he was with DHARMA (sort of), and we saw him growing up in the Initiative's compound on the island. The DHARMA Initiative is a scientific expedition started by two researchers from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and funded by a mysterious corporation. Their research stations study unique electromagnetic fields on the island, zoology, psychology, and possibly time travel (see video).



The DHARMA Initiative eventually runs afoul of the Others, or as they are referred to by DHARMA, the Hostiles. The Others are (we think) the island's natives, and they are much more in tune with the island, similar to the Native Americans, whereas DHARMA was about studying the island. Interestingly, John Locke exhibits behavior that shows that he may be at an even higher level of harmony with the island than any of the Others.

Knowing who else is on the island is important for trying to figure out where or what the island is. I almost feel obligated to discuss the idea of the island as purgatory. This theory popped up almost immediately, and was instantly shot down by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof. Personally, I think this would have been an interesting twist about 15 years ago, but today, things like "they were dead all along" has been done well and imitated poorly. But my Dad never gave up on the idea. And there is some evidence suggesting that all the survivors are dead. Nearly everyone who was on the plane has something they did wrong and need to repent or make peace with. Jack ratted his surgeon father out for drinking and doctoring (Scrubs reference!), leading Christian (his dad) to flying to Australia and drinking himself to death. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) was a con man and killed a man before boarding the doomed flight, Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) got involved with the Korean mafia, and Kate had a string of crimes. But in Season 3, there were two things that happened that seemingly cemented the idea that they were in fact dead. Locke's dad arrived on the island after getting in a car wreck, and he was convinced he was dead and in Hell. His belief was only strengthened when he ran into Locke, who was believed to have died on Flight 815. Meanwhile, across the island, a woman named Naomi (Marsha Thomason) parachuted onto the island after her helicopter malfunctioned. When the survivors told her who they were, she responded that Flight 815 was found, and everyone on-board was confirmed dead.

However, at the end of Season 2, Desmond's girlfriend Penelope (Sonya Walger), who is searching for him, was able to pinpoint the island's location due to a seismic event that occurred on the island. In Season 3, Charlie and Penelope actually communicated over a radio, while Jack spoke with the people on Naomi's boat, who were on their way to the island. And of course, there was the final twist of Season 3, where we learned that the off-island scenes were in fact flashforwards showing us what Jack does after he gets off the island.

So if they aren't dead, where are they? Why is it that no one can find the island unless they are picking up the ping signal emitted by the Looking Glass station? Why do so many vessels crash on the island? That one can be answered by the electromagnetic field DHARMA was studying. It was powerful enough to screw up the survivors' compasses, and it most likely was powerful enough to throw off the instruments of Danielle's boat, the Black Rock, and Naomi's helicopter. As for Flight 815 and Desmond's boat, that was just very bad luck.

Numerous theories have been thrown around. Some involve aliens, some involve time dilation bubbles. The producers say that there is a scientifically plausible explanation for what is going on, but with everything that's happened, I'm not sure that is the case. So what do I believe? Right now, I am completely at a loss for ideas. Right now, the only prediction I have is that Jack's dad Christian is the mysterious Jacob, the possibly-imaginary leader of the Others. I'm sure others have made that prediction before, but I have never heard any of my friends talk about the possibility, and I haven't visited message boards to talk about the show at length, so for me, it is an original prediction. But I believe this because Christian knew at least 4 of the Flight 815 survivors. Jack was his son, Claire (Emelie de Ravin) was his daughter (though the two don't know they're related), he flew to Australia with Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), and he met Sawyer in a bar right before he died. Also, when Jack found his coffin after crashing, it was empty. As for where or what the island is, at this point, I think that it is a very strange island in a part of the world affected by some supernatural force. Women can't give birth on the island, but cancer is (almost) non-existent. Also, there's a smoke monster. I think that the writers are going to give us some sort of pseudo-scientific explanation that delves into supernatural aspects.

Up next: LOST literature and little details...