LOST Profile: Mikhail Bakunin

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Mikahil Bakunin

Age: Unknown

Home: claims to have been born in Kiev, USSR

Status: No idea. Mikhail has survived numerous near-death experiences so far. I think it is safe to assume Mikhail survived the underwater grenade explosion that killed Charlie.

Profession: claims he was a medic in the Soviet Army, and served in the Soviet war in Afghanistan

In Australia: N/A

On Oceanic 815: N/A

Maggie’s Favorite Moment: When we first saw Mikhail on one of the monitoring screens in the Pearl. Sayid had fixed the wires so that the video surveillance feed to the upper-right monitor worked. Mikhail appeared on one of the screens, however after a frightening glimpse of his pirate patch, Mikhail turned off the camera.

The man that won't die, or the man that can't die?

Wikipedia reminds us that, in Par Avion, Mikhail, Sayid, Locke, Kate, and Rousseau find the sonic defense system that protects the Barracks. In order to test its true purpose, Locke pushes Mikhail through the barrier, causing him to foam at the mouth and bleed from the ears, apparently dying from a brain hemorrhage. His last words are "Thank you."

However, Mikhail reappeared in the episode D.O.C., very much alive, at the landing site of the female parachutist. When Mikhail sees Hurley, Charlie, Desmond and Jin have already discovered Naomi, he immediately runs, but is chased and captured. He agrees to inspect and treat the woman's injuries, but only if he is then allowed to go free. They agree, and Mikhail, with Desmond's help, evacuates the woman's punctured lung, and tells them that she will be better in a day or so. When Charlie expresses skepticism at such an optimistic prognosis for such a serious injury, Mikhail cryptically points out that injuries are different on the island.

In The Man Behind the Curtain, Mikhail runs from the jungle, explaining his death by saying the sonic death fence was not set to a lethal level. He tells the rest of the Others of Naomi, and that the Losties probably took her back to their camp. Ben then says that they will deal with the survivors the night after tomorrow, and that in the meantime, at Locke's request, Ben will take Locke to see Jacob. Mikhail questions his orders and insists that they deal with the situation with the survivors immediately. In response, Locke beats Mikhail to the ground. Ben asks the Others to help Mikhail, but they refuse.

Mikhail is sent by Ben to reinforce Greta and Bonnie at the Looking Glass Station in the Season 3 finale, Through the Looking Glass. Ben had told Mikhail that the Looking Glass Station was flooded, and Mikhail was upset that Ben lied. At Ben's request, Mikhail attempts to kill Charlie, Greta and Bonnie, but Desmond surprises him and shoots him with a spear gun in the chest. While Desmond and Charlie focus on shutting off the jamming signal, Mikhail escapes down the moon pool, apparently having survived being shot with the spear gun. Mikhail appears outside the window of the communication room, which he destroys with a hand grenade that he is holding, causing the room to flood and Charlie to die.

So who is this guy?

The producers have told us the Mikhail's story of his life is true -- but just biased. So did he really just answer an ad in the paper? Will we ever see a Mikhail backstory from the glory days of the USSR? I am intrigued by this man, but also believe that he is creepy beyond reason. The "real" Mikahil Bakunin is known as the "father of modern anarchism." We know the Lost producers chose his name for a reason...so where are they going with this character? Your guess is as good as mine.

Remaining Questions about Mikhail:

1. How long has Mikhail been on the island? He told Kate and Sayid he had been there for 11 years...but do we believe him? And how did he arrive?

2. If it came down to loyalty towards Richard or Ben, who would Mikhail pick?

3. What the heck happened to his eye? Does it matter?

4. Does Mikhail have this inability to die because he is on the island? Or is he special for other reasons?

5. With the explosion of the Flame (Mikhail's computer station), what is his role? It appeared that his job before was to monitor all the world's television programs and gather information for Ben...can he still do that?

3 Snarky Comments:

Charlie said...

Let us not forget that the Tail Section survivors, while stayin' alive in their own little hatch, found a glass eye. you have to believe it belongs to Mikhail. What is the significance of that? They found it in the same place where the strip of Orientation Film was, too, so can we assume that it was Mikhail who tried to cut that film? If so, was he doing it to try to sabotage something? Could I possibly ask anymore consecutive questions?

Anonymous said...

Before Daniel finds the sonic fence, Mikhail says that he knows Locke from when he was paralysed. How's that?

Anonymous said...

Mikhail had files on all the survivors from his work in the flame station.