4/15/09

LOST: Some Like it Hoth

UPDATE: SINCE IT'S GOTTEN SO MANY HITS, I POSTED THE "TAWARET" LOST STATUE BELOW.
(Note: The statue as shown in the May 13 season finale is also posted below for comparison. Spoilers in the comments, you've been warned.)
ALL NEW LOST POSTS ARE HERE ON THE NEW SITE.

Star Wars references! Dharma hijinks! Hurley and Miles! Mind-bending time travel!
Tonight's episode of Lost, "Some Like it Hoth" is shaping up to be a good one kiddos! Be sure to tune into ABC at 9/8c.

In the meantime, get caught up on the previous week's episode by checking out the hilarious recap for last week's episode, "Dead is Dead," over at the Ack Attack.

Some of my quick thoughts on last week's episode (mild spoilers):
-Despite what everyone wants to believe, John Locke is dead.
-The whole "Locke is risen" thing coinciding with Easter week probably was a coincidence, but Maureen Ryan has an interesting article on it at The Watcher. BSG fans will enjoy the parallels she draws between Locke and Starbuck.
-Ben is sorry for the role he had in Alex's death and he is genuinely concerned about the fate of the island and protecting people from it. Basically, he's not as bad a guy as everyone thinks.
-Claire's still dead. (But she's like Christian and Locke dead, not dead dead ... you know what I mean?) That being said, I hope the writers put her into an episode soon. She used to be one of my favorite characters. I miss the good old days of her and Charlie!
-Obviously, there's some kind of Egyptian theme going on with the island. First the statue and then Smokey's bedroom. That being said, I'm still convinced the island is some sort of gigantic ship that crashed on earth several thousand years ago. The Egyptians could have very well inhabited it for centuries before the island "moved" itself.
-Richard is one of the "keepers" of the island (i.e. he's an alien) and that's why he never ages and is present in every timeline on the show. Jacob might be some sort of projected hive consciousness of the aliens or he might just be another keeper of the alien island. I don't know.
-Kate is actually getting more interesting!
-I'm really happy Caesar was "written out" by Benry. Goodbye, "my friend."
-I'm not so happy about this whole Anna Lucia 2.0 woman, but I'm sure she'll get more interesting as we learn "what lies in the shadow of the statue."


Theorized LOST statue (I didn't make this. Source link in article above):





















And what we saw last night. (Courtesy: Lostpedia)























So what do you think? Are they the same statues? Are they totally different? This week Damon and Carlton described the Egyptian theme with one word -- "tapestry." What does that mean to you? Post your comments below, we've got a good discussion cooking here.

30 comments:

  1. Taweret is female. The "skirt" or schenti as is the correct name for this Egyptian item of clothing is worn by men, not women. Goddess Taweret holds "isis knots" not ankhs. Sobek holds ankhs.

    If anything it may be some combination of Sobek and Taweret.

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  2. Yeah, all good points. I'm more concerned with what the heck this statue actually is there for though.

    Did anyone get a translation on Richard's response to the "What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue" question?

    My Latin is really bad, but it sounded something like "those who protect us" or "that which protects us."

    Also, what gives with Richard (Ricardus???) speaking Latin, anyway? This island must be really, really OLD.

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  3. "Ille qui nos omnes servabit" is what Richard says, in response to "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" asked by Ilana.

    It translates to "He who will protect us all".

    Sudden thought: He who lies in the shadow of the statue is not Jacob, but the original Locke - he was dumped out onto the beach sand by Ilana's team for Richard to see.

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  4. Taweret was the Egyptian goddess of fertility and birth who was the protectress of pregnant woman and infants. Seeing as given birth on the island has been a problem for as long as we have seen the statue destroyed, i would go for Tawaret

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  5. Hmmm I like that thought about the old Locke somehow still being a force on the island. The zombie Locke was really cool, but I was a tad disappointed to discover it was an impostor.

    Lukey G ...
    I think Tawaret is definitely at least partially right. For Both the reasons you said. Still, the ankhs are kind of weirding me out.

    I guess I'm more concerned with the bigger question -- Why is there so much Egyptian influence on a tropical island? I'm still convinced the island is a ship of some sort ...

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  6. Notice how the current trend is towards alien explanations. the latest Indiana Jones is a good example as it concludes with a similar theme as is being ppresented here. Alien ships, since covered with vegetation, rise.

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  7. Oh boy, I hope this show doesn't "nuke the fridge" with an Indy explanation.

    I'm all for the island being a ship of some sort, just please don't have these stereotypical grays walking around. That's all I ask!

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  8. I posited last year on the now defunct lost-theories site that the Others were really lapsed gods from ancient Greece/Egypt/etc.

    Note the candy bar that Jacob gets for Jack in the hospital: Apollo. Not coincidental that Apollo was a major Greek god. Maybe Jacob is Apollo. Which means that he has a boss like everyone else... Jupiter... and maybe the "they" who Jacob says are coming are the other ancient gods who have also taken human form and are going to convene some sort of tribunal to sort out all the mischief that Apollo/Jacob has been getting into over the centuries... luring the Black Rock to the island, for example, as well as the survivors of Flight 815... with no end in sight other than in the name of "progress"...

    Also, I'm not sure that it's a given that Juliet has died in the nuclear explosion. If it succeeds in stopping the Force, then none of the stuff that brought her to the Swan that day would have happened... but can you die in the past and live in the future? Makes my head hurt just a little.

    The mysterious force under the Swan? Might be a bit of a warp in the earth's magnetic core... which is not exactly uniform or constant over time. In fact, the earth's magnetic field has changed polarity many times over the eons... and a pole shift could have devastating effects on not only man (disrupting electronic things) but also on life. That is, during a core shift the magnetic field could collapse to near nothing, allowing the solar wind to beat up the atmosphere, maybe even stripping a lot of it away. Not to mention confusing the hell out of migrating sea turtles and birds.

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  9. Good theory above. I noticed the Apollo bar too. Remember when Hurley was scoffing all those down inside the hatch in Season 2?

    I like your idea. And I would be much more satisfied with Jacob and Richard etc. as god than aliens or extra-dimensional beings.

    Maybe the island is some sort of staging ground -- the link between the god's world and the human's world. Maybe it's where the two can play out and humans, if they play their cards right, can "ascend" to be gods, just like Jacob.

    But maybe that's all a bunch of hooey.

    Jacob looked pretty damn mortal last night when *SPOILER* he got stabbed by (zombie) John Locke. And what's the deal with Ilana? Did Jacob heal her burns? She looks pretty good for a woman who was wrapped up in full-body bandages.

    I think the writers have big things in store for Ilana's team, however. And I agree with you when you say that they might be connected to this island as deeply as people like Jacob and Richard already are.

    It's going to be an interesting final season!

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  10. Ok, here are my thoughts.
    Jacob and the other guy at the beginning of the Show could represent Good and Evil. Remember, that other unknown guy told Jacob, "Do you know how badly I want to kill you?" To which Jacob's response was, "Yes." And then he says, "One of these days, sooner or later, I'm gonna find a loophole my friend." Jacob, "Well, when ya do, I'll be right here."
    That all being said, fast fwd to the end of the show where Locke and Ben finally meet up with Jacob. Ben's looking at that woven piece and Jacob says, "I did it myself. Takes a very long time when you're making a Thread, but ah, I suppose that's the point, isn't it? You found you're loophole." Locke or that other guy posing as Locke says, "Indeed I did."
    Wonder who all caught that?
    To me the whole Alien thing is too far out there, however, Good vs Evil theme works pretty well.
    What if, and this is stretching way out there, but what if we are looking as some sort of Jacob and Esau type story?
    Obviously, the writers or awesome thinkers and are really working the Science vs Religion angles hard. It all just keeps getting deeper and deeper.
    I think the Loophole is that somehow that other entity uses certain people who die to do it's work, aka Christian and Claire, and remember, Charlie is Claire's half brother. So is Christian some sort of Egyptian God entity thus making Charlie and Claire in that realm as well? Wow, so many possibilities. And that's the true beauty of the show and how the writers make the fans really think if they so choose. And the comment Jacob made the comment about how it takes a very long time when you are weaving a thread. Key words there, weaving a thread. NOTE: Somehow all the characters are interwoven and connected somehow to certain degrees. Did Jacob have something to do with all that? Aka Locke's term - Destiny. Was it predestined for All those people to end up ON the Island, alive? And to serve what purpose in the grand illusion of things? Are they all just Puppets, toys for Jacob to play with? So many questions, so many possibilities. The mind is a terrible thing to waste.
    Ya know, I almost never ever watched this series. Back when it Premiered I watched the first 15 mins or so, seen that pilot get yanked out of the cockpit and blood spattered the windshield, my immediate reaction was, 'Not another Dinosaur endeavor.' So I shut it off. But for some reason in the 3rd week I started watching it again and got hooked. People at work were talking about it. Due to all the Repeats, most the people at work lost interest. I, on the other hand stuck with it. Then they played the very first two episodes back to back, so I watched them both and haven't missed any since. And it's been a fantastic Ride!!! I'd like to thank JJ Abrams and the writing staff for a truly awesome program! Well Done! I can't wait to see how this all wraps up next year. Any chance they could start in Fall instead? One could only Hope.

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  11. Giant robot on the roadMay 16, 2009 at 9:09 AM

    I think that's a great thought. Fits in with the whole "tapestry" idea i had mentioned. Definitely a good v.evil theme here, we've seen that from day one with the backgammon game.

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  12. charlie and claire are not half brother and sister. it is jack and claire who are brother and sister

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  13. yeah jj abrams was involved very little, if at all, in the finale, and he certainly isn't to owe for much in the show at all really. names like jack bender are more what you should be thanking.

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  14. Yeah, you gotta give props to Damon and Carlton for most of the show's direction, I think.

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  15. To me i believe that the four toed giant statue represents an ancient spirit that has certain power over those who worshipped it.(i.e jacob and his enemy a the beginning of season finale)They arrived before colonial times on the island and over time evolved differently.Jacob seeing the island spirit as a blessing wanting to share it with the people deserving of it;s power and jacobs enemy believing that no outsiders should be allowed to the island because "every time they come it"s alwaysn the same". jacob over time realized the spirit was an evil spirit and bringing the oceanic 815 there is to destroy the spirit and release the souls being held captive over the years.....season 6 here we come

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  16. I like the above explanation a lot. Two different cults growing up around the same deity, but who is right? THAT would be really interesting. Also plays perfectly into the idea of "good" versus "evil" or "black" versus "white" set out by Locke in the series premiere.

    But what is it about the the Oceanic Six that makes them so special? Why are they the ones chosen to destroy the spirit? And is there any "good" left on that island now that *SPOILER* Jacob is apparently dead? What do you guys think?

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  17. Johnny Rocker here. I goofed. I said Charlie is Claire's half brother. I meant Jack. Sorry bout that. :)

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  18. Hah - "Charlie" was Matthew Fox's character on Party of Five. :)

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  19. Haha, so he was right after all!

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  20. This whole thing has spoilers.... if you read this far you can read this too...


    ok everyone... lets apply the keep it simple stupid method... very simply... the they jacob says is coming is everyone outside... they know it's not locke in there...

    then the dude in black that we don't know who he is has been locke, possibly was christian, and every other mysterious dead person that was alive, including boone and shannon at different parts...

    the loophole is to have someone else kill jacob because they wanted to for their own reasons, which ben did...

    jacob also was bringing the blackrock to the island and the other guy wasn't happy about it and said that jacob was still trying to prove him wrong. jacob says he is wrong. then other dude says something about how they come, they fight, they destroy and they corrupt. it always ends the same. then jacob says that it only ends once and everything else is progress. also at the end "smokemonster" locke also mention about how much he had to go through to make this happen(finding loophole killing jacob)

    my prediction going forward... is season 6 opens with jack on his back hearing screaming and runs through the forest... jacob and dude in black watching on chattering about how the loop hole didn't work... and we then follow the two of them to see how it all came about... thus explaining every mystery ever and we are all profoundly disappointed or really really happy.

    substitue jack on his back hearing screaming to the plane landing in L.A. and jacob being in the waiting area waiting for the dude in black to get off and jacob says something witty... then we have a season of flashbacks and forwards explaining it all... and lets not forget 3 clip shows....

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  21. Hi JustBill, thanks for posting. I think you dead on saying Jacob's antagonist is a spirit that inhabits the body of others on the island. I agree that it was him who appeared as Christian, Boone, Yemi, etc. He would show up in whatever form to set events in motion that would move his agenda forward. The dark spirit, just like Jacob, can not directly intervene in events, they can only push them forward. Thus the whole "loophole" you touched on.

    I wonder, however, if that means Jacob is some sort of spirit as well? Will he "move" into another body now that Ben has "killed" him? Could we see characters like Locke or Mr. Eko come back not as the evil spirit, we've seen thus far, but as a more "angelic" spirit trying to manipulate events to a more positive outcome? It's an interesting question.

    Still, there's the bigger question of why these spirits are on the island and what the larger "game" that's playing out is all about. Season 6 should be one heck of a ride, but there's a lot of questions the writers still have to answer.

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  22. Far fetched i know but, here I go.

    Jack and Kate and the rest of the Ocianic flight. They are the ones on that Colonial ship that Jacob and that other guy see. They keep on coming to the island, destroying themselves, reincarnating and coaxed back to the island by Jacob. The first time they came to the island, Jacob and the other guy watched as they savagely destroyed themselves. Jacob argued that these feeble humanss could do better if given a second chance. so he seeks them out in their reincarnated state. Every time they do a little better. Once they get it right, their reincarnation cycle ends and they finally get to pass over. Now I know that Jacob said "...it only happens once" but that could be the writers trying to disuade us from sniffing in this direction.

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  23. PS: My name is Spencer W. I posted the last comment. Who are the writers of the show - the main writer's. they're the one's we should be awe-struck by. Yes the directors too, but the writer's are just mind blowing. remember the episode where Charlie is taught by Locke using the insect as a metaphor to strength (referencing Charlies drug addiction). Amazing writing.

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  24. Hi Spencer. Thanks for posting. The Charlie episode you are referring to was from season 1 and entitled "The Moth." It was written by Jennifer Johnson and Paul Dini, according to Wikipedia. I'm not sure about Johnson, but I know Dini's been invloved with the show for several years.

    As to your theory, you could be on to something there, I don't know. I like the idea, but I get the sense that Jacob and the other guy are putting all of humanity on trial here and the players just happen to be whoever they are. That is to say, the Oceanic Six are not predestined test subjects bound up in this ordeal for all eternity, they are just there at the whim of Jacob because he felt they were a good group to pick at this time and place.
    Say just like Richard (Ricardus) may have been the "one" chosen from the Romans when Jacob was doing his little experiment in ancient times.

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  25. I believe it is a crocodile and therefore the God Sebok which makes more sense than a fertility God. Wikipedia includes in it's entry:

    "Sobek's ambiguous nature led some Egyptians to believe that he was a repairer of evil that had been done, rather than a force for good in itself, for example, going to Duat to restore damage done to the dead as a result of their form of death. He was also said to call on suitable gods and goddesses required for protecting people in situation, effectively having a more distant role, nudging things along, rather than taking an active part." (Wikipedia: Sebok)

    This makes far more sense for me.

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  26. Hi guys, i've just finished reading all the posts, in my opinion (for what i've been reading abou egiptian mithology), I think that jacob is sobek and the undead-locke/smoke monster is Seth. For the Sobek justification, i've found this definition on an egiptology site (www.egiptologia.org - it's in spanish) and i quote "Dios cocodrilo, de caracter beneficioso, creador del Nilo, que habria surgido de su sudor; dios de la fertilidad, de la vegetacion y de la vida" which translates into "Crocodile god, of benign nature, creator of the Nile, which came from he's sweat; god of fertility, vegetation and life". Well, in the last episode we saw that at hes temple, an using he's waters, life was restored to sayid, there is a lot of vegetation on the island and we have seen already some fertility relationed issues before.
    For the Seth part, i've found this passage on the same page "Identificado con el desierto y el trueno, gobierna las nubes tormentosas y desencadena las borrascas del viento sur; las conotaciones negativas de Seth se refieren a la sequia, la esterilidad, la violencia, el hambre y el mar", translating: "Asociated with the desert and thunder, ruler of the storm clouds and 'producer' (i cant find the right word to put it) of the south wind; Seth's negative associations are drought, sterility, violence, hunger and sea". Well, for starters, he is a bad guy, second the storm clouds thing explains the "monster" form that he can take, the sterility thing on the island can came from him too.
    Also, you can find some cross associations between the both. So, what do you think?

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  27. i love what a tv series can do to people. everyone think that they know what te writher meant...

    i'm a great fan of smart writhers... keep my brain busy!!!

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