Thursday, February 28, 2008

Lost Thoughts: "The Constant"

Wow. Wow. Wow. That episode was full of information, so I'll go ahead and take a crack at it for you (while still grinning about it all):

Side Effects -
So anyone flyin' to or from the island may encounter side effects, eh? Worse than ED or gambling urges? Oh yeah. Twitchy Daniel tried to warn Pilot Frank, but it's not always easy staying on the exact course when you're flying through a thunderstorm. So apparently even a half-degree variation in course will affect some people. Why not all people? Either way, this is f-ed up. Man, is Sayid lucky he didn't start flashing back to the Gulf War - talk about dodging a bullet...yuk, yuk, yuk.

Anyone for Some Desertion?
Well now we know why Desmond ended up in military prison and received a dishonorable discharge way back when - desertion! He deserted because IslandDesmond needed Penn's phone number and had to go find Papa Widmore ASAP. Now this is all starting to come together. Of course this means that Desmond has a "history" with time travel and knows even way back when his destiny is to enter that race, get stranded on that island, and call Penn on Christmas Eve 2004 - it's the way back to her, the only way (ok, maybe he doesn't know the exact details, but he knows not to deviate from the course taking him to that boat!). He has to follow this fated course or he'll never make the call he's supposed to and get her back. (Why do I feel like I've been running in circles?)

Desmond Goes Auctioning -
Much to my surprise, when MilitaryDesmond can't immediately reach Penny he doesn't search out her favorite haunts, or call her friends. He looks for Papa Widmore. That's a bit odd. And how did Desmond know to look for him at that auction? It's not like he showed up at Papa Widmore's home or business. I wonder if something more will come out about that....

The Black Rock -
What a jaw-dropping scene, as the writers just shovel heaps of information on us. So the Black Rock set sail on March 22, 1845 from England, heading for Siam. Then this "journal" turns up 7 years later in Madagascar. Now the geography makes sense, since the boat likely would've headed south around Africa and past Madagascar. But the 7-year lag makes me wonder, was there was any time jump, as in Desmond's 8-year flashes in this episode?

Dear Diary -
The Black Rock "journal" - as it was advertised - actually read "LEDGER" on the spine. Now, why would a first-mate be using a ledger for the ship as a journal? Since only a few exclusive people have read it (ahem, Avard Hanso - Man of Mystery), who called it a journal and are they lying about its contents? And why does Papa Widmore want the "journal" exactly? Is he really interested in the history of the Black Rock (in connection with the island)? Or is this a corporate issue where he wants his hands on what belonged to the Hanso Foundation - Foundation of Mystery?? This "journal" is sure to be tantalizing whenever we get to peek at the pages!

The Fabulous Minkowski! -
Well once IslandDesmond's shenangians land him in the "medical ward" we finally get to meet Minkowski the Mysterious! And he's a little sweaty squirrelly dude tied down to a bed. I feel very much like the curtain's been pulled back to reveal the great and powerful Wizard of Oz (which is appropriate, since I feel that way often about this show's revelations, and since the show references the Wizard of Oz often...). So Minkowski was just their communications dude (the Boater's answer to the Others' Mikhail - obviously communications operator is very deadly work). So Minkowski isn't actually refusing calls, so much as he's "tied up" for the time being. Har har. Did his little boat buddy, Brandon, die of the same "side effect"? Or did someone/something else kill him? If Brandon died from the side effect, why did it effect him so much quicker?

You Never Call, You Never Write -
Again, we have more answers about Desmond's "past". After hearing Desmond promise with all his heart that he won't call Penny for 8 years, now we understand better why he never called her from prison (after being detained for desertion). Notice that he only wrote letters to her - letters that were intercepted by Papa Widmore (as if that could fool Penn!). I always wondered why he never picked up the phone, and now we know!

3-2-1 Contact!
Hooray, another tear-jerking moment where true love conquers all and two are united again. Thank goodness Sayid the Handyman was on hand to fix all of that equipment. You have to wonder though, who trashed all of the communication equipment and why? Minkowski indicated that the Captain wouldn't be pleased. Why would someone defy the Captain? More proof that not all the Boaters are working in tandem with eachother.

Time and Time Again -
Okay, so there's obviously some time issues we're dealing with here. I still believe it's not exactly time travel, so much as time dilation - the idea that if time moves faster for some people (without them realizing it), then they will appear to be jumping into the future compared to places where time isn't moving so fast. And vice versa. (Think "Flight of the Navigator", and how the little boy rocketed through space so fast that when he returned to earth a couple hours later, 10 years had passed). Don't ask me why or how. There are still too many pieces of the puzzle missing to bring it all together.

Let's Do the Time Warp Again -

So all of this time warping makes people appear ill and die, eh? Bloody noses. Illness. Death.
Sound familiar? Could it be that Rousseau's team's illness and resulting death was actually a bad case of the time warps? If so, this proves that there is no illness, and that all of the quarantine warnings are the result of deception or misunderstanding.


THINGS YOU MIGHT'VE MISSED:

  • Penny lives at 423 Cheyne Walk, and you can reach her at 7946 0893.
  • The item up for bid at the auction after the Black Rock "journal" is "an oriental chest in the posession of Charles Dickens when he died". Charles Dickens is the author of "Our Mutual Friend" - the book Desmond is saving as the last words he ever reads.
  • Desmond is instructed to go to 1996 Oxford and find the Queen's College physics deparment to get Daniel's help. In the "His Dark Materials" series of books (which includes "The Golden Compass"), the main character must travel to an alternate world's Oxford to seek out a physics professor at the University to get her help. Just like Desmond.

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