I’m Lost
Okay after watching the Season 5 finale of LOST last night, I’ve been thinking about a few details from previous seasons (as well as the current one).
This episode definitely had some religious connotations with the most focus obviously on Jacob and his enemy (who I can only say might be called Esau at this point – coming from various online references to previous episodes) who seems to have taken the form of Locke in an attempt to take advantage of a loophole to kill him since he cannot himself.
Jacob envisioned a “Ladder to Heaven” (described in the Book of Genesis 28:11-19) during his flight from his brother Esau.
In all three – Hebrew, Muslim, and Christian interpretations, Jacob’s ladder can be considered as a bridge between two worlds… a connection between God and Man. In the Bible, Tanakah and the Qur’an, Jacob was the younger twin of Esau. Benjamin was Jacob’s youngest son. Jacob died in Egypt in slavery… but Jacob’s descendants went on. In the Bible and Tanakah, Aaron is a direct descendant from Jacob.
There’s some interesting good vs. evil religious themes there. Jacob was sitting on the beach in the first episode of the 2 hour finale, wearing white – and his brother(?) was wearing black.
When the Nemesis tells Jacob that the humans on the ship “come to fight, destroy, corrupt” and Jacob disagrees and says “it only ends once.” This discussion resembles the Devil’s discussion with God regarding the nature of humanity in the beginning of the book of Job. God and the Devil make a similar wager on Job as a representative for humanity.
When Ilana asks Richard what lies in the shadow of the statue, his Latin answer translates to this: “That which will save us all.” Food for thought.
It’s interesting that Jacob turns out to be a benign soul because Ben, who never met Jacob – or at least doesn’t know he had – needed to portray him as frightening, all-powerful and all Old Testament. That’s how Ben leads – with fear, knowledge-withholding and his favorite tool, manipulation. Where Jacob reminded everyone they have a choice. But seeing Ben fall apart, hearing him in his desperation ask, “What about me?” was interesting to see. Jacob delivered the final blow by simply asking, “What about you?”. I (as well as friends of mine) almost got the sense that he wasn’t quite saying “What about you?” in a hurtful way, but more like… who are you but a man in the way of a grander scheme? Jacob looked completely at ease, and didn’t even move when Ben went to stab him.
Remember that “God Loves you as He Loved Jacob” video that Karl was forced to watch back in season 3? That same room that Walt was likely put in when held captive and forced to “take tests” back in season 2?
The Smoke monster, also known as Cerberus from the map we saw hidden in the hatch made by Radzinksy and Kelvin, seems to be the protector of the temple and so it has some connection to the ancient people who built the temple and the statue. That map from the hatch also had several spots labeled “CV” which was confirmed to have meant Cerberus Vents. As for the name “Cerberus,” in Greek and Roman mythology Cerberus is a multi-headed dog which guards the gates of Hades. Hades has multiple meanings, some of which refer to the ancient Greek underworld, or the domain of the dead.
Other interesting points:
We see the old sailing ship, the Black Rock, in the intro and it is revealed that Jacob brought them there. Will we see how the ship got to the center of the island or how Jacob brought them there? (Remember the slave ship found in the middle of the jungle in an earlier season, full of explosives on the lower deck?)
Who was Jacob referring to when he said “they’re coming”?
What are Jacob’s lists for and what were the others doing with Walt and the children back in season 1/2?
If Ben didn’t really see Jacob in the cabin back in season 3, who called out “Help me” to John and what made the cabin go nuts in that scene?
What did the interracial couple have to do with Jacob’s cabin? Was the silhouette of the man sitting in Jacob’s cabin in an earlier season the same man who built it?
Why can’t Esau kill Jacob himself?
Parallels between Stephen King’s books and Lost
There are almost equally as many references, or similarities to Stephen King novels as there are biblical ones. For more information, click the link below. I won’t go into all the details, as this page could get very long.
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Stephen_King#Parallels_between_King.27s_works_and_Lost
One Response to “I’m Lost”
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Steve, I can’t believe I’m the first person to respond to your blog in eleven months. It was a very good read, and I like where you’ve gone with your theorizing, even now that we’re well into the sixth and final season. Please share your thoughts once the show has ended, I’d be interested to get your take.