Lost 2.23: "Live Together, Die Alone"

Written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse
Directed by Jack Bender

In which Desmond’s return helps Locke take control of the hatch, allowing him to let the countdown expire, while Jack and Sayid launch a dangerous plan to take on the Others…


Status Report

As anticipated, this finale is less about providing comforting answers and more about shifting the focus and direction of events on the island. What answers were provided could be taken at face value, but there’s also the question of context. Whenever conclusions are drawn by a character on this show, one cannot ignore the force of their own assumptions and one of the central concepts of the series: the question of coincidence vs. fate.

What exactly does this episode reveal? The Swan station is, in fact, sitting on some kind of tapped electromagnetic energy. Energy which may or may not be stable, since prior to the arrival of the Dharma Initiative in 1980, it was probably right there on the island all along without causing a single problem. The Swan station was constructed on top of that and appears to have been used to build up the EM energy and regulate it.

The very existence of the failsafe, a device to unleash the harnessed energy and remove the Swan station from the equation completely, undermines any argument that the unusual EM fields were particularly dangerous in the first place. The implication of the orientation film was that an accident took place, requiring the systematic release of EM energy every 108 minutes. But that assumes that the built-up EM energy would release in an immediate EM pulse with a wide enough spectrum to wash out the sky in visible light.

Why build a failsafe that would wipe out the station if the station was the only thing “saving the world”? The answer is: it wouldn’t be built. Wiping out the regulation of the EM energy wouldn’t be an option. So the implication is fairly obvious: the existence of the EM energy, already useful for other Hanso/Dharma experiments, was used as a pretext for the psychological experiment being carried out in the Swan station.

Here’s the logic: set up a situation that will have an actual, discernable local effect. Make sure that effect is as disconcerting as possible. Then attach a system to regulate it, and build up the consequences of that task to massive proportions in the minds of those charged with the job. Study the effects. And what’s more, study the effects of studying the effects. (Does anyone really expect that the Pearl station wasn’t also under observation from another location? Like, say, the true headquarters of the Others?)

Consider for the moment the question of coincidence. Evidence shows that Desmond’s system failure took place at the exact same time that the plane crashed (proving that Desmond lied about how long he was alone). That suggests that the building EM effect caused the crash itself. There’s just one problem with that. The plane was already off course by 1000 miles before the EM effect would have been remotely evident. Also, any such effect, unless directed, would need to be strong enough to rip everything in that hatch apart if the effect was strong enough to tear the plane apart in mid-air.

So ultimately, the explanation for the plane crash doesn’t quite hold up. Kelvin chose that particular time to push Desmond’s buttons, and as a former spy with a record of psychological manipulation (given what he did with Sayid during the Persian Gulf Conflict), he knew that it would draw Desmond out of the hatch. Recall also that Kelvin was ready to mess with Desmond’s head by playing out the whole quarantine game. (Assuming, of course, that Kelvin’s actions weren’t the result of being exposed!)

Any action that would take the plane that far off-course would have taken place much earlier than the system failure. The passengers still appear to be on that plane because they were chosen to be on the plane. Desmond’s flashback makes it appear that his presence was equally manufactured. If one continues to believe that Libby might, in fact, be connected to some Hanso/Widmore/Dharma activity, it’s hard not to interpret his history as a massive manipulation.

Consider the theory: Desmond goes up against Widmore, who is potentially involved with Hanso and thus Dharma. Widmore warns him to stay out of his daughter’s life. Desmond doesn’t play along. First prison comes along, but that doesn’t stop Desmond. So what’s the next step? Send Libby (who’s dead husband was named Dave; sound familiar?) to offer him what he needs: a boat to sail around the world. Make sure Desmond is driven towards the island, one way or another (which explains why the damn boat always went back to the island, though compass use gets useless around strong EM fields!). Make sure Kelvin is there to convince Desmond that he needs to stay in the Swan station until a replacement arrives. Make sure that when he is left alone, the circumstances convince him that staying in the hatch is a very good idea.

If that argument is not enough to support the notion that the EM pulse wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, the other major plot thread provided ample evidence. So it turns out that Henry may be the local leader of the Others after all, which explains why they would make such an unusual deal to get him back. His cover-story appears to have been pre-prepared for just such a contingency, though one could also question how someone as clever as Henry would allow himself to be caught in one of Danielle’s traps.

On the one hand, there is now some small evidence that the Others didn’t expect the survivors of Oceanic 815 to be on the island and begin messing with the status quo. On the other hand, Henry knew an awful lot about specific individuals and how to manipulate them. He could simply be a great judge of character, but the implication given by the Others is fore-knowledge. They know information that they shouldn’t know (like Sawyer’s real name).

Touching on the events of the hatch again for a moment, it’s Henry’s non-reaction to the EM burst that most strongly suggests that it wasn’t a major issue. He might have been holding back, but would the rest of the Others have been so controlled, since they were less than perfect in holding back previously? It points back to comments made in the review for “The Hunting Party”: if the button and system were so important, why would the Others let the JackLocke Tribe control it?

In terms of the plot to use Michael, it certainly seems as if a goal was in mind. Either they were done with Walt, or the escape coordinates will lead them right to another facility run by the Others. Independent of that, they wanted Jack, Kate, and Sawyer for a reason, and it’s probably not because of the apparent love triangle! Are they now considered to be the leadership of the JackLocke tribe?

If so, there’s an interesting possibility. Kelvin kept referring to hostiles, which one could assume meant the Others. But is that necessarily the case? What if there’s another group that is the actual threat? The island is big enough, after all, and who knows what else was done on the island? It’s entirely possibly that the Others want to protect themselves, and the best way to do that now is convince the leadership of the JackLocke Tribe to forge an uneasy alliance.

One thing is for certain: the release of the EM pulse did not destroy the world. However, Penny Widmore knew that it could happen and knew that it was probably a sign of Desmond’s presence. The most logical explanation is that she knew what her father had contrived, but had no idea where the Dharma experiment was taking place. Now that she knows, a new element is introduced. (This is, after all, the first time a scene took place off the island in “present day”.)

It all boils down to a fairly complex but relatively straightforward timeline. Some of the stations appear to have been in use until recently, while others appear to have been out of use for quite some time. This suggests that the original Dharma Initiative project ended long before the plane crash, around 1987 (if the facilities like the Pearl weren’t meant to look unused). However, the facilities remained in use for experiments post-Dharma (and possibly for other purposes, like trapping Desmond).

The Others (the remnants of the original Dharma?) were running these post-Dharma activities with Walt and Claire/Aaron, for instance, and probably responsible for keeping Desmond under wraps. They were clearly evaluating the survivors of Oceanic 815 and there’s every reason to suspect that the survivors were purposefully selected as potential candidates in the post-Dharma experiments.

Taking all of that into account, the rest of the action and drama is specifically based on the psychologies of the characters. Nothing they conclude should be taken at face value. The fact that Desmond was ready to give up hope and kill himself, only to change his mind when Locke pounded on the hatch door, only means something to Desmond and Locke. (It’s the same for Eko and his interpretations during “?”.)

The drama between Desmond, Locke, and Eko highlights the battle between reason and faith. Reason states that all these events are masterminded by outside influence and any mystical or metaphysical meaning is entirely the delusion of those caught up in the situation. Faith demands that the subjective interpretations are merely personal revelation of the larger context of all these events, guided by some higher purpose (God, the island, etc.).

Locke is caught up in a self-deprecating version of reason. He doesn’t truly embrace the idea of coincidence; he needs to support it to oppose those who still have the faith he has lost. Desmond is on the fence, but in the face of extreme coincidence and his own personal experience, it doesn’t take much for him to turn back to faith. Eko is extreme in his faith, willing to kill or die to ensure that the expression of his faith is fulfilled. What’s interesting is that none of them truly embrace the idea of a purely rational interpretation of the Swan station and its function.

All three of them are at the epicenter of the EM burst, and since there was apparently an explosion involved, it’s not clear whether or not they survived. It’s certainly possible, since the pieces of the Swan station may have been tossed around by the EM fields rather than an actual explosion. Desmond doesn’t need to survive for the story, but both Locke and Eko are integral to the story.

As previously mentioned, it’s quite possible that Jack, Kate, and Sawyer are being held by the Others for the purposes of negotiation, not experimentation. Perhaps they believe that convincing those three to cooperate would effectively ensure the cooperation of the rest of the Oceanic 815 survivors. On the other hand, if they see those three as the current leaders, then how easy would it be to toss the survivors into chaos by killing them? Even so, their survival to this point suggests a more complex purpose than elimination.

Sayid, Jin, and Sun should be in good shape, and it’s interesting that the survivors now have a boat of their own. Watching Sayid expose the falsehood of the Others’ camp was a lot of fun, but the real oddity was the remnant of that statue with the four-toed foot. Talk about something that’s dropped into the story out of nowhere! It does suggest that this particular island was once important to ancient peoples as well, but it’s still a bit of a non-sequitor.

If Michael ever shows his face around camp again, he’s going to have a problem with Hurley. That’s the closest Hurley has ever been to unleashing a homicidal rage, even compared to his angry shot at Sawyer in “Dave”. The fact is, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer might have let him take a few shots. But Jack was right: the only course was to continue to play the situation out.

Charlie managed to get himself caught up in Eko’s scheme, but it’s hard to work out his motivations. For the most part, it seems to be a perverse desire to see Locke punished for perceived transgressions. Yet he also had little desire to see everyone get hurt or killed. It’s sweet that he got a kiss from the ever-gorgeous Claire at the end, but if anything, it feeds into his addictive personality.

But his survival brings up an interesting question. Intense EM fields can cause severe psychological and physiological problems, and Charlie isn’t quite acting right at the very end. For that matter, even if everyone is still reeling from the fact that so much has happened (much of it beyond their knowledge), there’s every possibility that the EM burst had a bad effect on them as well.

A few final minor points. The map itself is still not clearly explained, because Kelvin could have been lying about its origins and purpose. More to the point, it plays into the idea that Desmond was being convinced that there was a reason to stay in the Swan station. Similarly, a connection between the “monster”/Cerberus system and the Others may have been quietly established. Michael was leading the team into an area on the map (based on the orientation of the column of black smoke) that would have had Cerberus activity. Is the fact that the system didn’t activate related to the fact that the Others wanted Michael to bring people to that location?

This is the part where the season finale review would usually launch into a discussion about the season as a whole, but things will be done differently moving forward. The “Lost” post-mortem (so to speak) will be the main focus of this week’s episode of “Dispatches from Tuzenor”, a new podcast started as an expansion to the written reviews conducted every season. That episode should be up after the weekend, so anyone interested is invited to drop by the archive site (www.entil2001.com) and click on the link. (It’s also available on iTunes.)


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was a mind-bender of a finale, and an episode that begged for closer inspection and deep consideration. Much like the first season finale, this is all about delivering a massive change to the status quo, and in that regard, it serves its purpose. There were actually answers this time around, even if they weren’t the answers expected or as interpreted, but as usual, there’s plenty of ground left to cover and explore.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

(Season 2 Final Average: 7.4)