Doc’s Week of LOST Season Four Predictions - Part One!
Yes it was bound to happen. I’ve been showing incredible restraint, but it is time for me to unleash my wild predictions for Lost season 4. I like to think of my odds for being correct as "highly unlikely, but highly entertaining."
Like any other Lost fan, I love to speculate, I just have a captive audience of news seekers I can afflict my imaginings on. So let’s get on with it!
My goal is to unleash twenty predictions this week, take a break, then come back to finish it off somewhere towards the end of September. Of course you guys can have your say on how far out in left field I am by either using the comment system, or the polls.
Prediction Number One - Flashforward Style
This is a procedural prediction. I am predicting that the flash forwards will not be presented in a ‘is this future or past?’ context. The flash forwards will be clear. Furthermore, I expect the flashforwards will be populated by a supporting cast unique to the flashforwards. This comes more from a story telling perspective than anything else. If we rely on our known characters to fill in the blanks, the sequences will have a ton of exposition. Throw in some auxiliary heroes and foils and you can get into the meat without being too obvious.
Prediction Number Two - Exiles
Who are the people from Naomi’s boat? We know there is still a lot to be known about the island. Particularly the fact that it is existing in warped space. This is proven by Desmond’s failed escape from the island, and Juliet’s comments regarding the sailboat not being a threat. ("Let them sail in circles.") Naomi’s people are seemingly very well known to Ben, though. When Michael was sent away from the island to the mysterious compass bearing, was he being sent to a no-man’s land of sorts? Was Michael the first one sent to this no-man’s land by Ben? Perhaps Naomi’s people have been "sailing in circles" themselves until the Swan Implosion gave them, like the snow hut guys, a temporary bearing on the island.
Prediction Number Three - The Original People
I’m with the growing body of people who believe that Richard was a slave or shipmate on Jacob’s ship, The Black Rock. What I don’t believe is that the Hostiles are NOT the island’s original inhabitants. I’m guessing we’ll learn the original inhabitants are still on the island, perhaps in a phase-shifted Jacob like state. Whispers anyone?
Prediction Number Four - Mr. Paik’s Watches
One mystery of the first season that has never been resolved is Mr. Paik’s mysterious watches. Jin was sent on a mission to deliver those watches. The mission was so important that a distinctly otherish type guy in a Hawaiian shirt menaced Jin in a bathroom over completing his mission. Before long, I see "What is in the watch?" coming on par with "What is in the hatch?"
So that’s what I have folks. What do you think? Am I losing it?
Yay predictions! I love reading other peoples hairbrained theories.
Comment by TrillianM — August 27, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
I like the idea of the watches. Clocks and watches have been interesting this past season. Remember the scenes with Ben and Rousseau’s daughter where every time the camera angle changed, the clocks had a different time?
Comment by LosB — August 27, 2007 @ 2:16 pm
Im curious why Naomi knew of Desmond if she was sent by Penny. I wonder if Charles Widmore sent her…
Comment by thenumbersarebad — August 27, 2007 @ 2:43 pm
I haven’t really thought about the watches at all, but with all this time stuff, it could be meaningfull, but I doubt it. I also believe that Michael was sent to the bad guys by Ben, and I really like the theory that the whispers are the real hostiles, and they use whatever human inhabitants they come across to do their bidding to protect the island, and then that would make Jacob the leader of the whisperers.
Comment by jimmy — August 27, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
Im curious why Naomi knew of Desmond if she was sent by Penny. I wonder if Charles Widmore sent her…
Comment by thenumbersarebad — August 27, 2007 @ 2:45 pm
oops…didn’t mean to post that twice, i just had a little mental SYSTEM FAILURE…I also meant to say WASN’T sent by Penny.
Comment by thenumbersarebad — August 27, 2007 @ 2:51 pm
I dont think i like the idea of the hostiles being whispers that inhabit bodies. sounds like ghosts or something. and would Walt fit in there with the hostiles?…Unless THAT is the reason Walt was important to the Others. Maybe they thought Walt had the same abilities as Jacob and could use that against the Hostiles….OK my idea was dumb, but you never know.
Comment by thenumbersarebad — August 27, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
I am predicting that the flash forwards will not be presented in a ‘is this future or past?’ context. The flash forwards will be clear
I’m already not happy with the flashforward thing. We know at least Kate and Jack get off the Island. There’s now no tension with those two; any time they’re in a threatening situation, it’ll be lame, because there’s no stakes any more. One of The Bad Guys threatens Jack that he’ll kill Kate unless he does XX? Yawn, they both get out alive, that scene is pointless. That’s one of the genius things about the setup of LOST, that characters really *could* die at any point. They’ve now made it a Star Trek thing where you knew Kirk, Spock and Bones weren’t going to die, it was just noise. In fact, I wish they’d have phased out the xxback thing altogether as the various characters had their backstories told and just concentrated on a linear day-by-day of current events on the Island.
Who are the people from Naomi’s boat?
The Bad Guys. Duh!
Particularly the fact that it is existing in warped space. This is proven by Desmond’s issues, and Juliet’s comments regarding the sailboat not being a threat. ("Let me sail in circles.")
Oh, that’s a FACT is it? News to me.
Perhaps Naomi’s people have been "sailing in circles" themselves until the Swan Implosion gave them, like the snow hut guys, a temporary bearing on the island
Makes sense.
I’m with the growing body of people who believe that Richard was a slave or shipmate on Jacob’s ship, The Black Rock
Ben: You do remember birthdays, don’t you Richard?
Shipmate, I’d say, the slaves were probably all African. It’d be nice to get some more details about the Black Rock, hopefully in the upcoming season.
What I don’t believe is that the Hostiles are NOT the island’s original inhabitants.
If Richard was a Hostile, and your "shipmate on the Black Rock" thing is correct, that dates him to the late 19th century (per TLE, the Black Rock disappeared in 1881), the Four Toed Statue is obviously much older than that, so there was probably a civilization there before the Black Rock crew. Is history repeating itself with the natives having to fend off people that crash there?
I’m guessing we’ll learn the original inhabitants are still on the island, perhaps in a phase-shifted Jacob like state. Whispers anyone?
Dunno about that, I’ve always gotten the vibe that The Whispers are part of the DHARMA project, that they’re part of the parapyschology component, via Remote Viewing. If you read the transcripts, it’s like the people are blind in a way.
Before long, I see "What is in the watch?" coming on par with "What is in the hatch?"
Oh dear, now we’re in to "Ben’s diary page that took forever to decode is the equal in importance of the blast door map" territory. I think you’re way off base on this one –in fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if the watches are never mentioned again– and besides, Doctor Who’s last season had a pocket watch as a key plot point so it’d be kind of tired anyway. Not to say Mr. Paik isn’t involved with the Island-happenings, he obviously is, but the watches? Not so much, I’d say.
You didn’t mention aliens or clones or anything, so most of your speculation is at least possible.
Comment by Henry Holland — August 27, 2007 @ 3:17 pm
I agree on the style of flashforwards. The surprise element of it being in the future has already been used up. I think it’s safe to say that all flashes featuring the 815ers will be flashforwards from now on, whereas flashes featuring other characters (Ben, Danielle, etc) could go either way, but likely back. As for knowing that Jack and Kate get off the island removing the mortal suspense from the on-island scenes… keep in mind that Jack and Kate can now die in their flashforwards.
The island doesn’t necessarily exist in warped space. It could just have a warped magnetic field (in fact, we already know that it has a warped magnetic field from Locke’s observation with the compass in season 1… and the whole Swan business) such that trying to follow a steady bearing away from the island will cause you to circle back and return to the island. If you try to approach the island on a steady compass bearing, your path will bend around the island and you’ll never actually hit it. The one exception is if you try to leave on the heading given to Michael at the end of season 2, which is sort of at the "pole" of the distorted field.
I think Naomi’s people are sent by Charles Widmore. CW has piggybacked off Penny’s research into finding the island (she did it with his money, afterall) and has sent the boat people to the island for his own purposes. He knows about the island because his company helped construct the DHARMA facilities (along with Paik) as we learned in TLE. He wants the island’s power, in short. So they weren’t exactly "going in circles" before the Swan blew up, they just hadn’t been sent yet.
As for the hostiles being the original island inhabitants… I’m not sure. I think the "original" people are long gone, thousands of years gone, and Ben’s folks just want to claim their mantle. I have this sneaking suspicion that Jacob is another aspect of the monster / the island, and it’s definitely not happy about being in that cabin.
The watches themselves probably aren’t important in that there’s nothing super secret about those watches in particular. But it’s a definite possibility that the intended recipients of the watches do have some significance. I think Mr. Paik’s involvement with DHARMA will resurface, and these watches may have been sent to other DHARMA / Hanso players. We shall see…
Keep the predictions coming, Doc.
Comment by hexonxonx — August 27, 2007 @ 4:15 pm
Sorry to double-post, but Doc addressed one of my points before I even posted that. Desmond was likely drunk the whole time he was sailing away, so he probably wasn’t paying close attention to much of anything. As for Ben’s comment, it could be that he was simply lying. I hate using that argument, because it makes everything in the show impossible to analyze… but it’s Ben, so it’s a real possibility. Another possibility is that Ben meant that the island can’t be seen from high above, as God would looking down, like from a satellite. Maybe there’s supposed to be some sort of Philadelphia experiment-type effect going on, where the entire island isn’t viewable once you’re far enough away. I think that supposedly had something to do with electromagnetic fields. It’s within the realm of the sorta-BS-y sci fi element of the show.
Comment by hexonxonx — August 27, 2007 @ 4:21 pm
If there is in fact original inhabitants of the island that are hanging around I am afraid that we are going down the often used plotline of an ancient race of benevolent beings that are directing events to achieve a certain outcome… Babylon 5, Stargate SG1 et al?
As for Batmanuel, I am personally not even certain that everyone can see Richard. If there are some natural inhabitants of the island I would tend to look in the direction of Mrs. Hawking or Brother Cambell. Plus Richard’s quiet departure from the show causes some problems to his personal history with the island.
People in exile seem a bit out of character for the island. There is a pattern of people having allegiance to the island purging those that question it. We know of two purges. The obvious being the Dharma purge by the hostiles. The other is Danielle’s team. We can logically assume that similar purges have occured throughout the island’s history.
As far as the whispers, does that make Frank Duckett an original inhabitant? My problem with the argument the whispers speculation is that some of the voices are from the past. Like the dying words of Duckett to Sawyer in Outlaws.
Comment by TabulaRasa — August 27, 2007 @ 4:48 pm
didn’t carlton confirm (at comicon) that the people on naomi’s boat at the baddest bad guys the island has ever seen? I’m inclined to trust ben in this regard.
I think we are only going to see a few (two/three) flash forward at key points in the next season, i.e. season finale and maybe first episode, i dont think they will give us that many for the reasons above. I think we will see more flashbacks for the majority of season 4, such as sawyer’s tampa job, hurley and the massacre on the balcony, sayid and nadia in london, and maybe a young sun/mr paik flashback similar to ben and his father. as for non-losties, i’m thinking we will get an Alex flashback (it’d sync up perfectly with her reunion with Rousseau - could serve as a pre-Rousseau-flashback teaser), Rousseau flashback would be awesome but probably premature in s4, would love to see the story of the research team and learn that maybe one of the members was converted to an Other, ala Cindy. Marvin Candle Flashback!!! (I have a theory that marvin candle/hallowax/wick is montand…. would explain why his arm goes gimp in later films…. probably not though.
Comment by bohemus — August 27, 2007 @ 5:39 pm
I think you’re right about the original inhabitants. I also think that the whispers are of Jacob’s people trapped in altered time and I’m not sure why I believe this, but I don’t know if they realize they cannot be seen. As for the watch, something about that scene has always gnawed at me. The watch is definitly important in some way, shape or form. Maybe they are tracking devices, or something of that sort.
Comment by KatesFate — August 27, 2007 @ 7:50 pm
At the begining of season 3 the writers gave us a little hint that there may have been a past romance between juliet and ben. What happened? Why have we not seen them getting it on? Answers please!
Comment by Willow — August 28, 2007 @ 1:14 am
I think that naomi’s boat is from charles widmore or his associates. How would penny know that another ‘rescue’ ship had been sent?
Comment by Jim_robinson is jacob — August 28, 2007 @ 8:20 am
Prediction Number One - Flashforward Style
I think this is likely and that the FF’s will be a contained storyline like Caprica on BSG. I also agree that there will be cast members who mainly appear in the FF’s. Perhaps Walt.
Prediction Number Two - Exiles
I’ve been thinking lately about the freighter, if there really is a freighter. I think that its time to introduce the main villains and that whether there is or there isn’t a freighter, the force represented by the Freighties will be the main villain.
Prediction Number Three - The Original People
Yes, I think that the Whispers are the Hostiles/Original inhabitants. But I don’t think we will get much on this until the very end.
Prediction Number Four - Mr. Paik’s Watches
I totally think that Jin was supposed to deliver the watch to the Island. If you were the Godfather of an international criminal organization and you knew that the plane was going to crash on the Island, it would be a convenient way to get rid of your unworthy son-in-law. Especially if you arranged for your daughter to escape from the flight. And since we have already seen that there are people who can have knowledge of the future in time to influence events, this becomes plausible. So few of the Lostaways made their own flight arrangements.
Comment by pocket — August 28, 2007 @ 11:43 am
Flashforwards: I definately agree. These are going to be evidently seperable, or else I very much hope so. It’s already hard deciphering the purpose of incidents we’re allowed to see from the past and how they relate with each other. The flashforwards on the future of Jack and Kate can be good if kept simple enough to sort of blend in with a plausible story. I think that some will stay, some will go off the island. I hope Jack finds the two Arctic scientists and works with them and Penny in getting back there to attends unfinished business and find Desmond. Wouldnt it be nuts if somehow there were alternate "Jack"s or anyone on the island for that matter? Naomi did say they found all of their bodies dead which is weird. Imagine Future-Jack is on Naomi’s frigate coming back and why Locke says "you’re not supposed to do this" and why Ben says this is bad is because Jack seeing Jack could mess up the way of "destiny" or the way things should be? It’s not going to happen at all, but an idea.
Exiles: What is up with the inability to find the island? Is it something Dharma created to shelter the secrecy of the island, or was it the natives or "spiritual presence" of the island that has some control on who leaves or sees the island. Either way, Michael is floating around somewhere out there, maybe he’s on a no-man’s island, but i doubt it. I think Michael is with Naomi’s people, and either he neglected to say anything about the island’s whereabouts or simply couldn’t re-find it because of it’s nearly-stealth-feature. I know he makes it back to civilization, at least, i’m almost certain that was him in that coffin and it was printed in the newspaper, so it happened shortly after Jack got back. I think Michael will be re-aquanted with Jack and the crew when Naomi’s people show up, and when they return home he kills himself because he killed Libby and Michelle and cant live with himself. Something like that.
Originals: I agree. But if Jacob is just a hostile or slave owner of the Black Rock, why is he empowered as this spirit or entity? I dont reckon being a slave owner grants god-like powers. As far as Michael goes, if he was a slave or shipmate with Jacob, you’d think he’d be able to communicate with him now, no? I think we’ll find that Michael does, secretly, hold a lot of knowledge amongst everyone on the island, whether Ben knows or not. I think he’s of the same nature as the Oceanic 815 guys we know, and started as a cast-away. I do however wonder what’s he’s seen, let’s hope he gets a push in at least one episode.
Mr.Paik: I think you have something here. But really, i just simply think Paik was working with Dharma. Maybe a business affiliation or an opportunity to be rid of Jin (as you stated), either way he knew of the crash which raises the brow. It’s the same story behind the psychic in Australia who manipulated both Claire and Eko’s "paths" which led them to the island. I think, knowing that Dharma may have had people directing the LOST crew on the 815, it’d be safe to say many of the characters we know, such as Jack’s dad, Jin’s whore-mother, Hurley’s skinny friend from the New Guy, Locke’s father, hell maybe even someone on the flight 815 like Sawyer or Michael, just might have met with or are working with Dharma???
They’re all ideas, feel free to eat’m up and dismiss them.
Comment by FOAG — August 28, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
Concerning the people on the ship, or the metaphorical ship: They have to be the real villains! You can’t just look at the others and all the people who have joined them, from who knows how many island crashes and recruiting and whatnot, and think that they’re all just evil. They’re just doing all this stuff to the lostaways to torment them for no real good reason at all. Even though we know they’ve been able to recruit numerous people from the plane relatively easily (just a little kidnappping, maybe room 23? no…). The only way to believably make sense of all of the things that the others have done, is to have the foil, the actual villain that forces ben and others actions. There are numerous forces at work here, and from what i’ve seen, it seems like the others have had some sort of plan. If Pickett said that Jack wasn’t on Jacobs list, we know that some of the information from Jacob is dispersing amongst the others. Jacob is telling them to do things for a reason, and from what i’ve seen, they definitely DO want to protect the island. The real villains are the corporations. Of course.
Comment by hurleybird — August 28, 2007 @ 5:31 pm
I’m already not happy with the flashforward thing. We know at least Kate and Jack get off the Island. There’s now no tension with those two; any time they’re in a threatening situation, it’ll be lame, because there’s no stakes any more. One of The Bad Guys threatens Jack that he’ll kill Kate unless he does XX? Yawn, they both get out alive, that scene is pointless. That’s one of the genius things about the setup of LOST, that characters really *could* die at any point.
I really don’t think this holds any water. It’s fairly obvious that Jack and Kate are the main characters and very well liked by the audience. I’m certain the writers realize the fallout that killing either of them would create. Knowing this I think they have made a conscious decision to reveal them in a FF. Even though the Lost writers are prepared to kill off main characters (e.g. Jack in the Pilot), I haven’t been too concerned about Jack or Kate dying during the first 3 seasons. Whether or not they reveal other central characters will be remain to be seen. If they do start showing most of the Losties off the Island then I would tend to agree with you. Also, remember that there is a whole chapter that will be off the island. We might be getting into that chapter quicker then we might think.
Prediction Number Four - Mr. Paik’s Watches
One mystery of the first season that has never been resolved is Mr. Paik’s mysterious watches. Jin was sent on a mission to deliver those watches. The mission was so important that a distinctly otherish type guy in a Hawaiian shirt menaced Jin in a bathroom over completing his mission. Before long, I see "What is in the watch?" coming on par with "What is in the hatch?"
This is a really interesting theory. I think that the watches will have an explanation, but whether or not its this vital to the story as a whole, I’m not sure.
Comment by Midge — August 28, 2007 @ 7:52 pm
I think we will find that the watches carry some sort of transmitter that will help locate the island. Or even perhaps something that will CAUSE the plane to go to the island.This was Paik’s plan. He knew the island was there and he wants to find it. Perhaps he has lots of people going back and forth over the ocean unknowingly carrying transmitters because he knows eventually one will stumble on the island. I also think we will find that Libby gave the boat to Desmond on the orders of Widmore or someone else, and that the boat also carried a transmitter.
Obviously there is some kind of space warp around the island. But the real question is: does the island have a specific, definite location on the earth’s surface, even if it may be invisible at that location… OR, does it exist in no particular location with respect to the earth’s surface, but rather is in some alternate reality that can be reached via gateways that do exist in certain spots on the earth. Remember Yemi’s plane… the Pacific ocean near Fiji is hell and gone from Nigeria. It’s more likely that it accidentally went through a vortex or gateway near Nigeria and then arrived on the island. Just like flight 815 went through a gateway near Fiji. But the island doesn’t "exist" near either of those places.
Also, I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion (as many people seem to think) that the main story line is going to pick up in 2004 once again and that we’ll be seeing FFs to 2007. Perhaps the main story picks up AFTER the last scene in the Season 3 finale.
Comment by BobW — August 29, 2007 @ 11:28 am
Also, I predict that the flashfowards well be from the future of 2005-2010 . 2010 because that is when the show ends. I predict that the final episode will be the present LOST. and that some flash fowards will be from 2007-2008 which will be cool because we will see off island activity and compare it to our lives. I’ve seen Forums that have contests on people writing what will happen on Lost season 4. and many have written about flash fowards being 20 years from now! why? I can understand why people might think this. But my prediction is that flash fowards will be only future until 2010. and that everything will piece each other up like a puzzle by the end of the season, which will show present time.
Comment by Alex — August 29, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
I dont think there is any way you are going to see Jack, Kate, Locke, Hurley, or Sawyer disappear from Lost. The other main characters, maybe — I’m tempted to even include Jin/Sun, Claire, and Sayyid on that list too, but I’m not so sure about them. However, I’m pretty sure the fact remains those first five really define Lost. Without them, the show would lose a lot of appeal to me, and I just simply couldn’t see any viable circumstance where the writers would want to kill them off.
Comment by Roger — August 29, 2007 @ 10:11 pm
long time, Doc! i like numbers 2 and 3 myself… sounds sweet.
Comment by Jimyy — August 30, 2007 @ 6:54 am
Honestly, i would like to know what u think happened to Ben and Locke, since their the most important characters to me. What do u think will end up happening to Ben? What will become of Locke? King of the Island? lol
Comment by Jimyy — August 30, 2007 @ 6:59 am
What happened to the watch? I remember that Jin gave it to Michael at the end of Season 1, but I’m not sure what happened to it after that.
Comment by GodBlessTexas — August 30, 2007 @ 1:16 pm