Lost 4.2: "Confirmed Dead" -- POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Many far more talented and skilled researchers are able to find all the "Lost" connections and theories, but I simply cannot resist the urge to talk about what I picked up from last night's outing.
Here are some of my random thoughts and observations on the very fine episode, "Confirmed Dead."
"Ghost Boy" I
Many people on the official "Lost" easter egg sites are trying to find correlations between the "ghost boy" and "Mr. Eko." While that did not occur to me during the episode or even really upon further review, I do have some ideas relative to that little snippet of back story.
Upon entering the boy's room, Miles Straume was shown in full view of a football poster bearing the phrase, "Battle Royale." This is the first reference that I can recall to the bloody Japanese pulp novel by the same name.
The premise behind the book is that large contingencies of upper-class high schoolers are routinely kidnapped by a fascist government and taken to an island not far from their mainland homes. While in seclusion, the children are forced to fight to the death ... think "Lord of the Flies," but with guns and explosives.
But in an interesting plot point in the Japanese title, we discover that one of the characters is actually a return kidnap victim — this person has lived it all before, and was never supposed to return to the island. Also much is reported in the national government-controlled media about the children's participation in the program, and parents are personally informed of the occurrence.
There is a possibility that the Battle Royale poster is strictly a coincidence, but I like to think of it as more of a tip of the cap to the unique novel and fan's obsession with tracking all the literary ties — no matter how much of a stretch.
"Ghost Boy" II
Miles comes into the old lady's home, asking for money up front and demanding her to stay away regardless of what she hears. He proceeds to turn on what appears to be a modified hand-held vacuum and begins conversing with the newly departed.
The vacuum, in my mind, is simply a noise maker to cover his real talent of speaking with the dead. And for some reason, this whole circumstance reminded of F. Paul Wilson's book, "The Haunted Air," which is part of his unparalleled Repairman Jack series.
In this book, a couple of brothers are supernatural shysters who conduct phonies séances in a real haunted house. Jack works to set things right when the two discover that they've actually tapped into something way beyond their comprehension and control.
There is so much going on in the Repairman Jack line by the time this book comes along that it wouldn't be possible to explain it all. And I'll admit that this whole set up simply reminded me of those guys, so there may not be more to than that.
But for Miles' sake, we can hope that his circumstances turn out better than those of the brothers ..... man, one of them took a real turn for the "weird."
"The Brand-New 'Others'"
There are many things observable about our new arrivals that might be interesting to note for future reference:
Familiarity — We were never shown that these people knew each other prior to joining up for this mission, but they all apparently had a talent or personal interest that meshed well for the needs of the 'rescue mission.' And there was no surprise registered among them for the talent exhibited by Miles to commune with their departed forerunner.
How interesting ....
Contact — For now, we are only given one instance of a 'direct connection' between the newly arrived rescue party and Oceanic 815 — the 'drunk pilot' dubbed Frank Lapidus. Frank was supposed to fly the plane that fateful day, but didn't for some reason.
Could it be that Frank's reaching out about the missing wedding ring somehow flagged him for the picking by Oceanic Air or whoever this mysterious group is seeking Ben? Is this landing party really just a bunch of conspiracy theorists and/or other Dharma initiative hounds brought together for someone else's nefarious purposes?
Meanings — One of our guests happens to fall into the hands of John Locke and is soon after shot by Ben. In the last two minutes, we're informed that she is none other than Charlotte Staples Lewis (C.S. Lewis, like the famous Christian-friendly author). Ben knows her name, the names of the 'others' with here and their stated purpose.
There is a lot more early research going on now to uncover more of the references and/or meanings behind the names of these new characters .... some of the initial stuff is pretty interesting. Check it out here.
As an aside, the gentleman arrange the mission to the island (the same guy who bugged Hurley in the mental institution) is being tagged as Matthew Abaddon, an ominous name with Biblical implications ....
Just Like Before?
Did anyone else get a flashback when Jack informed Miles that he should let his weapon go as he was surrounded? Seems like I recall Jack being on the receiving end of such treatment not so long ago ....
Are we meant to make comparisons between how the Losties treat the newcomers vs. how they were treated by the Others? Are kidnappings and strange experiments to follow?
Polar Bears Of Tunisia
How cool was it to see a hint of the Dharma/island weirdness clearly manifested in the 'real world?' I was excited to find such an interesting development dropped into the mix in the early goings of the new season.
The running polar bear gag has been debated and analyzed time and again, and many agree that it is somehow a conjured presence from Walt's imagination. We've already been promised more Walt and Michael as producers said they plan to reintroduce the boy in such a way as to make his aging totally appropriate .... Could Walt and/or Michael be Ben's "man" on the yet-unseen freighter?
And, the bear's nicely preserved remains included a collar featuring the hydra symbol. But how did he escape that station and end up seemingly a world away ..... ??????
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