Battle of the Century

Welcome to the first ever "Dharma Blog Duel: Charlie vs. Maggie" (ala the Washington Post). What you're about to see is an e-mail battle between myself and Maggie, in which questions are raised, theories are posed and mild profanity is uttered. It began with a question from Maggie to me, which I answered akwardly before firing back at her. Today's Battle Questions will cover the O6's lies and conflicts, who is in that durned coffin, Claire's deadness, a little Walt action and our new mystery Orchid station. Enjoy!

Maggie:
G’day, Charlie. Can you believe the season 4 finale is next week? Where has the time gone! It has been an interesting season, that’s for sure. Look at everything that has happened, both in real time and in flash-forward time, since our first season 4 episode, “The Beginning of the End.” It has been one hell of a ride. We have so much to talk about today in our first Dharma Blog Duel, which will pit you versus me in the “2008 Lost Theory-Rama”.

Shall we begin with the Oceanic 6 reveal from last week? The scene on the Coast Guard plane was eerie, to say the least. Jack was so determined to tell the story, to sell the story…and everyone else just looked exhausted, introspective, scared, and disappointed. What’s your take on this, Charlie? Why the story? Where is it from? And why are the O6ers going along with the charade? Ready…set…go!

Charlie:
We’ve said from the moment we learned about the O6 having a cover story that something big must be causing the secret. In Season 4, Episode 1 Jack cryptically questioned Hurley, “You didn’t tell, did you?” Jack’s face displayed worry, while Hurley’s displayed a resignation to his fate, saddened that he couldn’t unpack the burden of this huge farce. So it does beg the questions – why could only six leave, and why do they have to lie about it? My guess: a bargain. With Keamy’s impending “island torching,” the 815’ers may be put in a position where they have to bargain people’s lives for people’s freedom. I see it playing out as a, “We won’t kill all your people, but only six of you can leave.”

As for why they have to make the O6 lie: I think that mass population and knowledge of the Island threatens Widmore and/or Benjamin’s ability to harness and/or exploit it. The mere ability of people to find and reach the Island seemed to threaten Ben’s authority greatly, and I’m sure Widmore doesn’t need the entire universe waltzing around, petting smokey and falling into hatches (that’s a lawsuit waiting to happen). So I believe that our great orchestra conductors, Ben and Charles, have formulated this lie. The O6 is agreeing to tell it to save their friends.

Your turn, dear friend. Riddle me this: where is the O6 rift stemming from? We see Hurley in conflict with Jack, nobody coming to see Sun (except Hurley) and Jack eventually losing touch with reality and his fellow former castaways. But why?

Maggie:
I’m down with your answer, Charles. I definitely think that an O6 reveal of the island’s secrets puts the lives of those still on the island in jeopardy. At some point in his post-island life, however, Jack decides that it is up to him to save the day again…and take on the powers that be (Ben and Widmore) and this lie. It has been said that seasons 5 and 6 will focus on the O6’s return to the island…which I think we can agree is against the will of Ben and/or Widmore.
As for your quesiton about the O6 rift…great question. That rift (Sun/Hurley vs. Jack/Kate/Aaron vs. Sayid) is very significant. Sun and Hurley are, arguably, two of the kindest, calmest, most trustworthy survivors. The scene where Hurley is relieved that no one else came to see baby Ji Yeon and Mama Sun tells us that something HUGE must have happened. Okay – so what sort of events could cause this kind of rift? I think it has something to do with the rescue of the O6.

Since the episode Ji Yeon, I have believed that Jin is dead. Sun’s silence on the Coast Guard plane and subsequent blank stare during the press conference (and the Kahana filled with explosives) confirms for me that Jin has, indeed, died. We know that Sun blames her father for Jin’s death…but she said she blames two people, so who is the second? I’m starting to formulate a theory that it might be one of the O6’ers that she blames, rather than the obvious answer of Ben, Keamy, etc. Perhaps Jin was initially on the chopper, but there wasn’t enough room and he was “kicked off the chopper”, for lack of a better phrase. Perhaps there was room for one more, but it was decided to not go back for Jin. Perhaps they could have landed on the Kahana, picked up Jin, and flown off before it exploded, but they didn’t. And maybe Hurley was the only person agreeing with Sun in the whole matter.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that the O6 rift is centered around Jin. And Sun blames everyone for his death.

What say ye, Charlie?

And on another note, let’s talk about that coffin. Who has entered the pearly gates?

Charlie:
I like that theory. I like it a lot. Perhaps that’s what made it easy for Hurley to turn back on Jack and insist a return to the Island. Or maybe it has some bearing on Jack and Hurley’s need to return – like Michael, they want to redeem themselves for past wrongs.

But oh no you didn’t just open Pandora’s Box. The coffin? Damn you. I’ll honor the question, as it has been foretold by the prophets Lindeloff and Cuse that this mystery will be solved in Season 4.
Ben. Locke. Michael. These are my three likely suspects. Here’s what we know: the funeral took place in LA, a few years after 815 left Sydney (how time plays out between the crash and the funeral is another story). Nobody came to the funeral, so it’s someone nobody likes. The more I think about it, the more I gravitate toward Ben. Locke’s funeral may have been attended by somebody from his past, and I have to think Michael’s family would show up (sans Walt, perhaps). But who would visit Ben? No family. No friends (off the Island, anyway). And if it is Ben who is responsible for the O6 lie and/or the deaths of several 815 survivors, can’t you see Jack begrudgingly attending the funeral home and Kate reacting incredulously to that notion with her bewildered, “Why would I go to that?” So how does Ben die? I think when he announced that Sir Charles had “changed the rules,” he may have been referring to the idea that Alex’s death was not in the plans that fate had so carefully laid. He changed the rules because he changed the future. And the future – which Ben thought he knew, thanks to his Quantum Time Travelers Air Miles Visa – with a living, breathing Ben in it was no longer in play. But then, wouldn’t fate “course correct” and find a way to keep him alive? Sigh. This is the very circle in which my mind runs when I think about this. But I maintain that it’s Ben in the coffin, and that one of these major Island happenings (the failsafe key, Alex’s death, the freighter conflict) tinkered with fate in a way that makes that possible.

Your move. Same question, with the addendum: where in the name of the Psychic Friends Network is Walt? Do you see him factoring into Season 4?

Maggie:
I agree with you that Ben, Locke, and Michael are the prime suspects. I agree that Michael, although he has caused a lot of grief (and death) on this show, is the least likely. We have seen in the last few episodes that he is trying to redeem himself, and one can only imagine that, in light of his change-of-heart, surely his Mother would show up for his funeral. Or someone else from his life. I agree with you about Ben – no family, no friends, etc. However, you know just as well as I do, Charlie, that Ben always has a plan. Part of me just cannot see how there would be a time when Ben actually dies – or, should I say this: Ben dies in LA and has a funeral. I can see a scenario where Ben dies saving the island…you know, tying himself to a tree in protest or something. But, I cannot see Ben dying in LA and being placed in a coffin. I just can’t.

And so, that leaves Locke. I don’t have much of a theory about how Locke ends up back in LA and dead. However, I feel strongly enough that it is NOT Michael or Ben, and that Locke is my only option. So, running with this theory, somehow Locke leaves the island separate from the O6 (which means he has access to leave…which means Ben or Jacob let him go somehow OR he jumps into the Island Delorean and time travels to the future. Perhaps his death is course correction for his life…or for Ben’s life. Locke has to die so that Ben and Charles can keep fighting?

Oh, I don’t know. I really don’t know.

On to the next question. Damn you and your Walt question. He’s at Grandma Dawson’s house in New York, right? Or is he on his own Delorean, traveling to far off places and killing people for Ben? Who knows. A short answer to your question: No, I don’t see Walt factoring into next week’s episode. I think some of our O6ers will encounter him in their off-island life, but I don’t think we’re going to see him next week. Do you?

And your question is: Is Claire alive or dead or halfsies?

Charlie:
Criiiiiiiipes! No crazy Walt theory? I was hoping you would begin a sentence with, “Here’s how Walt becomes Matthew Abaddon...” But alas. I think he’ll factor in somehow. But I might just be saying that to disagree with you.

Claire vexes me. But I think her appearance with Christian Shepherd clues us into something. Christian exists in this murky grey area of life or death. His physical body is dead, I’m fairly certain. But just as Desmond’s “conscious mind” can leave and travel to a past self, perhaps Christian’s “conscious mind” from the past has traveled into his dead Island body. Make sense? Say Christian is alive in 2002, in LA, practicing medicine and tossin’ the sauce. Maybe a visit from Richard Alpert allows him to time to take a Desmond-esque journey of the conscious mind to his future self, which is dead and on the Island. Because we’ve talked about people time traveling from the Island to elsewhere in time and space – so couldn’t it work the other way around? And this, I’m postulating, is what has happened with Claire. In some vacuum of time, either before or after the crash, Claire’s conscious mind has traveled into her Island body, and with the knowledge that her conscious mind has, she is an Island Believer, in the same vein as Locke, Christian, Ben, Jacob, etc. That might be totally wrong. And probably is.

Final question: what the hell is the Orchid?

Maggie:
You’re right. I do think Walt is a younger Matthew Abaddon, but I don’t have the brain power to back up that wild Maggie theory today.

I think the half-alive, half-dead idea makes sense (Wow, I cannot believe I just said that…it is not possible! But I still believe it! I am crazy!). Claire and Christian are definitely alive somewhere in time (likely back in time). However, they somehow have come back to the future (pun intended) and are continuing to live in their dead bodies.

God, I love this show.

What is the orchid? Well, orchids are perennial epiphytes, which grow anchored to trees or shrubs in the tropics and subtropics. Some orchids are lithophytes, growing on rocks or very rocky soil, or are terrestrial. Nearly all temperate orchids are terrestrial.

Mua ha ha. Wow, I’m funny.

Seriously now. The Orchid is a Dharma station first mentioned in outtakes from a Dharma Orientation Film originally presented at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con (a big nerd convention) and later on the Season 3 DVD. The film is presented by Edgar Halliwax. According to the video, the Orchid (or "Station 6") is a fake botanical station that houses many numbered white rabbits. It seems to have an alarm system similar to that of the Swan. The subject of the Orchid's research is described as "highly volatile and potentially dangerous", and reference is made to the Casimir effect. Remember that when Ben woke up in the Tunisian Desert, he was wearing an Orchid Jacket with the name Halliwax on the right pocket.

It is interesting to note that before the film was aired at Comic-Con, Lost producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse told a story in which the film was sent to them after being found in a building in Narvik, Norway that was set to be demolished (possibly the Hanso Foundation headquarters?). They claimed the film was then spliced together and restored by the Lost writers.

From the outside, the Orchid station resembles a greenhouse, containing a variety of flora and fauna. The station's exterior also appears to have become overgrown with vines covering stairs and support beams. In last week’s episode, Ben claims there is a hidden switch within the station that activates an elevator taking one to the "real" station underground. Ben told Locke: "You're going to go into that greenhouse through that hole there. Once inside, you're going to turn left. Go about 20 paces until you see a patch of anthuriums [Maggie note: this is a tropical flower] on your left. They're in an alcove against the north wall. Face that wall, reach down with your left hand, you'll find a switch that activates the elevator. The elevator takes you down to the actual Orchid station."

So, to answer your question, Charlie: the Orchid is a freaky place that you probably don’t want to get stuck in. People have argued that the Orchid must be the brain of the island – the central point from which all of the island’s powers emanate. If this is the case, it is less than great that Keamy and his crack-pot team is there. It is less than great that Locke is about to go in there by himself. It is less than great that Ben has been knocked out and left Hurley/Locke to their own devices.

Truth be told, the Orchid is this season finale’s “radio tower”…this season finale’s “New Otherton”…this season finale’s “Swan Hatch.” The action in this episode is going to take place at the Orchid…and likely partially spill over into Season 5, which means a long 7 months of theorizing on our part!

Well, I think this is a wrap! What a successful first dueling analysis!! Any final thoughts, Charlie?

Charlie:
No thanks. My brain hurts. Until next week.

Your Turn!
Did reading any of our crackpot theorizing make you pull your hair out? What did we miss? Take a stab in the comments section - if we can see that a lot of people are liking this, we may just make it a more semi-regular part of the blog (though not usually this long - this is the Thursday/Friday post for this week).

Namaste.
.charlie