The Tail Section

Submitted by zyzzybalubah nick
www.zyzzymusic.com

I was reading the theory article on TTS about "The Great Radzinsky Debate" in which people are suggesting that Radzinsky (remember our unseen shotgun-to-the-head, blast door map-drawing, hatch-mate of Kelvin Inman?), could possibly be "Sam Toomey" from Australia (another shotgun suicide victim) or "Leonard" from Hurley’s institution. However, I find both of those theories very improbable based on the back-stories given for both of these characters. Several people also left a fair share of comments backing up the improbability of a Radzinsky/Toomey/Leonard theory. However, what I found incredibly interesting was the alternate theory that was continually resurfacing in the comments about Mikhail “Patchy” Bakunin possibly being our mysterious Radzinsky, and then the pieces began to fall in place!

Firstly, the reader comments presented the following points as possible evidence/hints at the Mikhail/Radzinsky shared identity…

1. Both Kelvin Inman & Mikhail Bakunin were formally in the military. Kelvin was in the Gulf War under US forces, where as Mikhail was of the Soviet Army. I am not sure of the Soviet Army’s involvement in the Gulf War, or if there was any at all, however is it possible that this is how a Mikhail Radzinsky could’ve first met Kelvin? Even if not friends, a "Lost-cross" for a future Mikhail/Radzinsky flashback is certainly possible, right?

2. Kelvin has said that Radzinsky shot himself while he was sleeping, thus leaving the blood stain on the Swan’s ceiling. Mikhail is known for cheating death on 2 occasions (or 3 if you thought he died after Locke brutalized him for standing between him and Jacob/answers), so is it possible that Mikhail Radzinsky would have shot himself only to recover, escape his responsibility to The Swan, and join the ranks of the “Hostiles/Others”?

3. Kelvin said that he only had 108 minutes to bury Radzinsky, due to his time-limited button-pushing "world-saving" duties. Would this have made for a very shallow and thus escapable burial/grave?

4. Kelvin told Desmond that it was Radzinsky who had made the edits to The Swan’s orientation video. It is revealed to us that the Tailies discovered the cut-out section of the film in The Arrow station. It was found within a trunk containing a hollowed bible and a glass eyeball! Who is the one person we know on "the island" that is missing an eyeball? Mikhail! Furthermore the Swan’s blast door map (drawn by Radzinsky and his photographic memory) does indeed include the specific location of The Arrow!

5. Kelvin claimed Radzinsky taught him how to fake a lockdown procedure, however the first time we experience a lockdown in The Swan, (in the episode "Lockdown") it is activated seemingly by itself. Or, perhaps, was it activated by Mikhail Radzinsky (from The Flame?) in order to setup a scenario in which Benry could gain Locke’s trust? Or perhaps even for Locke to discover Radzinsky’s blast door map?

It was at this point after reading all that information that even MORE pieces started to fall into place for me, and I began to notice these following connections…

6. We know that Mikhail, despite his (or The Island’s) regenerative abilities, still bruises, scrapes, and scars pretty well. If in fact Mikhail is Radzinsky, then having regenerated from a shotgun "suicide", he would likely have a nasty wound to show for it. Is this how Patchy Mikhail lost his eye all along!!??

7. Both Radzinsky and Mikhail are Russian names. A Wikipedia search for the name Radzinsky comes up with Edvard Radzinsky a "Russian writer, historian and TV personality, author of numerous plays and film scenarios." Given that the show’s creators have penchant for naming the Lost characters after significant historical figures it is entirely possible that Edvard Razinsky is his namesake, whereas Mikhail shares his name with Russian anarchist philosopher Mikhail Bakunin. Is it possible that Radzinsky took up the name of Mikhail Bakunin after his staged suicide in honor of this “revolutionary Russian philosopher”?

Although it seems that there may actually be a connection between these two characters or that they may be the exact same man, there are still contradicting puzzle pieces that might suggest otherwise. I’ll let you decide how much significance these cons have to the possible connection.

1. Firstly there is the question of, how could Mikhail have used a glass eye if (as we saw in "Through The Looking Glass") his eye is sealed/regenerated/healed over, rather than a gaping hole? Or is it possible that he sewed his eyelids together after retiring his glass eye into the chest at The Arrow?

2. Then there are The Pearl’s observation experiment logbooks which contain a reference to “S.R.” moving a ping pong table. Could S.R. have been Radzinsky? If so, it is still possible that Mikhail Bakunin is just Radzinsky’s fake “other” name, leaving the possibility of his real name beginning with an “S”? Another maybe, is that S.R. is a reference to Shannon Rutherford, though it is not known whether or not Shannon had ever entered the hatch. It is also unlikely that The Pearl’s logbooks were still being used during the time Shannon could’ve entered the hatch (as we see it as mostly abandoned for its original ‘Dharma purpose’ throughout the Losties’ island inhabitance).

3. Also, there is the confirmation by script-coordinator Gregg Nations that Mikhail is NOT Radzinsky, and Radzinsky IS in fact DEAD. However, this could also mean that Mikhail is no longer "Radzinsky" as the persona of "Radzinsky, member of the Dharma Initiative, is metaphorically “dead”. It would not be the first time that the show’s creators have worded their way around the truth in order to mislead us or to throw us off their scent (Tricksters that they are!).

What do you think? Your thoughts?

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