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Watching the Remind-Me-What-The-Hell-Has-Happened-So-Far preview followed by the two-hour premiere of Lost Season 6, I realized what J.J. Abrams and his cohorts were setting out to do five years ago: Create a TV show crammed with every genre possible. Season 1 started as an action-packed thriller, which morphed into mystery, romance and science-fiction.
Now we can add religious allegory to that list. The writers were in a generous mood, and one of the biggest questions of The Island was answered last night. Jacob’s companion, a.k.a. Fake John Locke, is the smoke monster. “I hate that you had to see me like that,” he tells Judas, I mean Ben, after killing Jacob’s would-be protectors. He’s the devil, trapped on The Island, and he wants to get off.
The biggest question at the end of Season 5 was also answered: Would the atomic bomb reset the timeline? The answer that no one guessed was “Yes.” And “No.” Whether we’re seeing alternate realities or somehow the past (the lives of the ignorant passengers of the safely landed Oceanic plane) will lead to the present (the remaining survivors on the island with memories of the crash) is still murky. The differing memories make an eventual convergence of the timelines unlikely. We’ve had flash-backs, flash-forwards and now flash-dimensions.
One thing that nobody could have predicted was the existence of the Other Others, the group living at the Temple, led by a bonsai-growing, martial arts expert who “doesn’t like the taste of English” on his tongue, along with Oceanic flight attendant Cindy. They’re ready to kill our survivors until Hurley proves they were sent by Jacob. If Jacob is the Jesus figure, betrayed by Judas and coming back soon, Sayid is Lazurus, brought back to life by the healing waters of the temple. In one of the opener’s best scenes, he confesses his sins—torture, murder—with his dying words. He expects no redemption, but he’s integral, we learn, in containing the wickedness of Fake John Locke to his Island prison.
And that’s what Season 6 promises, at least in the present time line. With Jacob dead, the Devil has been loosed. Whether for three days or more, the battle has become much bigger than one for survival or escape from The Island. Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Jin, Sun, Miles and, especially, Sayid were chosen by Jacob for a good ‘ol fashioned battle of good vs. evil. Lost has always wanted to be epic. It doesn’t get any more epic than a fight to save the world from a reign of darkness.
Josh Jackson is Paste’s editor-in-chief. His TV column appears on Tuesdays and when his mind is blown by Lost.
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Josh,
Decent analysis. It is difficult to gauge at this juncture where Abrams et al are going. I think Lost's use of religious imagery is syncretistic. There is some Christian imagery (although we are not sure where they are going with it yet), some Eastern imagery (black/white, yin/yang, and backgammon motifs), Egyptian imagery (although they have not gone anywhere with it yet), and Greek motifs (is this world real or illusory? fate/determinism vs. free-will). As far as I see it, there is only one religious system that encompasses all of this imagery and that is Gnosticism, a syncretism of Eastern thought, Greek thought, and "Christianity." It is doubtful that Lost will wittingly end up being an apologetic for Gnosticism. The writers seem to be borrowing from many different wells of mythology and invariably this will include Christianity, but I would be hesitant to state that Lost will end up being an apology or monotonic for any religious tradition or mythology.
"bonsai-growing, martial arts expert"? Just because he's Japanese doesn't automatically make him bonsai-growing nor a martial arts expert. The plants in the Temple looked nothing like bonsai trees and all we saw was him take Jack down (who hasn't taken Jack down?). I'll wait a few more episode before I make rash stereotyping judgements...
I get the feeling that the author was pointing out stereotypes in the show, rather than showing underlying prejudice.
The leader appeared to be Asian. We find him pruning the foliage on miniature plants. I didn't think you had to have a certain species for bonsai.
He easily took down Jack with his ninja skills.
They should gave just thrown in superior math skills to round it out.
Mike, I certainly don't expect the final season to act as an apologetic for any particular religion, and I agree with you about the symbolism coming from any number of religions. But this was the first episode that had me wondering if Christian symbolism might be pointing to the ultimate struggle of this final season.
And Avgasian, I did think those were bonsai plants, but I may have missed that. And he didn't just take Jack down; he took him down in a flash. I certainly hope and expect his character to transcend the stereotypical Japanese master persona that on first glance seems to be the Lost writers' shorthand for an ancient, exotic wisdom.
Josh,
Thanks for the clarification. It promises to be good. I feel like the allusions and imagery are fairly smart. I am wondering if the writers will turn the good/evil thing on its head. The first episode leaves you empathizing with Jacob and those he is allied with (which is still a little vague at this juncture). However, it seems that there is room for the writers to turn the tables on whom the audience empathizes with, namely, Fake Locke/Monster/Man in Black. The man in black seems more inclined to protect the island as opposed to Jacob. We'll see where it goes as things sort out. Good mythology.
http://modernpensees.wordpress.com/
Umm...this is a show that has a character named CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD (get it??????). I think the heavyhanded religious overtones have been there for the entire series.
It's also trafficked in stereotypes for a long time (oh look, the Iraqi character on the show was a military torture expert and the guy from the South is a redneck womanizer conman.)
How can you say that no one could have predicted the existence of the Other Others? That's exactly who Richard led to the Temple when the island was moved in the first place at the end of Season 4.