Season 4, Episode 5: "The Constant"
A coworker of mine has told me on a couple occasions that Lost can be summed up in the following way: the show itself represents a mosaic, or a puzzle, if you will. The puzzle has a definitive structure and story to tell, but that story can only be told once all the pieces are in place. Meaning that the writers have known all along how our story begins and ends, but instead of telling the story in a linear fashion, they instead have chosen to give us bits and pieces over time. And every once and a while one of those pieces falls into place, perfectly displaying a full picture in front of us. It sounds simple, yes, but the mind boggling episode that we witnessed last week is a perfect example of our puzzle coming together.
For example, the events of this week's episode explain what has been happening with Desmond ever since he turned the key in the Season 2 finale. If you recall, Desmond turned the fail safe key in the Swan hatch, which we later learned unleashed a significant electromagnetic pulse and "turned the sky purple." We didn't revisit Desmond's fate until the 8th episode of the third season. In that episode, entitled "Flashes before your Eyes," we were introduced to this notion of "time travel" in Lost. Desmond was experiencing past events...he bumped into Charlie playing on the street, and he met that crazy clock lady, who informed him that instead of buying an engagement ring for Penny, that he'd leave her and end up on an Island pushing a button for three years in order to save the world. Furthermore, he started to experience the "flashes" that predicted a number of future events, including poor Charlie's death. While at the time we were pretty confused about it all, we now have some sort of understanding of what was happening to Desmond. Almost a full season later, we learned that it wasn't necessarily Desmond's body that travels through time, but instead, it's his mind, or consciousness, that is making the trip. And it's due to the fact that he was 1) exposed to a massive does of electromagnetism during the hatch blast (how convenient) and 2) that the Helicopter veered ever so slightly off it's course off the Island to produce a certain side effect: becoming unstuck in time.
Let's talk about this phrase "unstuck in Time." It struck me as rather familiar when I first heard it, and I had originally thought that it was mentioned in a previous episode, until I later realized that it in fact came from a classic novel that I had coincidentally recently re-read: Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. For those that don't remember the details of a novel that you probably read back in high school, Slaughterhouse Five is on the surface an anti-war novel written about the WWII fire bombing of Dresden, but it also focuses on its protaganist's (Billy Pilgrim) penchant for becoming "unstuck in time" and traveling to future and past events in his life. Moreover, he is abducted by an alien race, the Tralfamadorians, a race of beings that, among other things, experience Time all at once. As stated in the novel: "“All moments, past, present, and future, always have existed, always will exist. The Tralfamadorians can look at all the different moments just the way we can look at a stretch of the Rocky Mountains, for instance.” The Tralfamadorians, for instance, don't get sad at funerals because it is an event that they have seen and experienced just as they experience all other events in Time concurrently. In essence, they experience the world in 4 dimensions rather than 3, with Time acting as the 4rth axis.
Does this depiction of Time sound familiar? Whether or not you realize it, it is how we, the viewers, watch Lost unfold from week to week. The show is literally shot from the perspective that Time is its own dimension...we are privy what is happening in the present time, the past, and now, the future. Just like my co-worker's Mosaic example, we are seeing the show unfold from all times, and with that the larger picture becomes clearer and clearer.
Interesting.
And one quick illustration of experiencing different Time periods simultaneously in the story of the show can be seen when Desmond finally connects with Penny on the Freighter phone. In this rather touching scene, we see and feel both Freighter Desmond's happiness upon hearing her voice, as well as seeing 1996 Desmond crack a smile of relief as he is walking away from Penny's flat after procuring her number. At this time, "both" Desmond's are experiencing the same emotions simultaneously, even though they are 8 years apart. The connection has been made, and he knows he is safe. In Des's words to Sayid after the call, "I'm perfect, Brotha."
Now, I bet your thinking, how does that explain the fact that Time is clearly moving at a different pace on the Island versus off the Island. To that, I don't know. There is some information that I have seen out there that talks a lot about all the physics diagrams that we saw in Daniel's notebook, but honestly, it makes my head hurt and I won't even attempt to get in to it at the moment. Additionally, the episode opens itself up to a classic "time travel" paradox; and that is: how could present day Daniel NOT remember that Desmond visited him in the past to tell him the solution to an equation that he had been working on for some time? Clearly that would be a momentous occasion that would not be forgotten. At the moment, I'm not buying Desmond's answer, "maybe you forgot," when past Daniel poses the same question to him at the university. But we know that future Daniel DID in fact meet up with Desmond in 1996 (and that it wasn't a parallel universe or anything), because he wrote in his notebook at the time that Desmond would "be his Constant."
Regardless, the fact that passage through to the Island can cause such dramatic effects can help explain a number of things. Obviously, we've seen how it explains Des's past and future flashes. But I am willing to bet that it has influenced or caused the following occurrences: Locke's connection with the Island (and his dramatic cure from paralysis), Ben's ability to manipulate people and somehow always know how certain events will unravel, Richard Alpert's ageless quality, the "sickness" that Rousseau's crew contracted (nosebleeds and brain aneurysms people!), Walt's mysterious appearances, and most importantly: Jacob. Could it be that Jacob is trapped in some sort of Island time loop? Could it be that his cabin has existed in different locations in a number of different time periods, which would why Locke can't seem to find it at the present time? The only words that we have heard Jacob utter are "Help me." I don't know about you, but if I was trapped in some sort of space time continuum mind warp, I'd probably want some help too.
These are all wild guesses and most likely way off base, but I do think that the writers have given us a very important piece to the overall Lost puzzle in "The Constant." While we aren't necessarily closer to definitive answers, we will continuously look back to the revelations offered in "The Constant" as keys to unlocking many of the Island's mysteries.
Of course, this whole time business wasn't the only thing that went down in this episode. What about that auction? The item up for sale was the journal of the first mate of the Black Rock (auction #2342 by the way...the same number that Desmond gave Daniel to make the rat experiment to work). The journal itself had been in the possession of the Hanso family (as described by the auctioneer) - specifically and most recently Tovard Hanso - for over a hundred years. If you remember, our old buddy Alvar Hanso was the founder of the Dharma Initiative. So assuming he and Tovard are related, we can see the connections to the Island and the Black Rock (was there a Hanso on board way back when?). While Whidmore eventually won the auction, there was a silent bidder on the phone...who could that have been? My guess is either Ben or Abbadon. Both have vested interests in the item...one wants to protect the Island, and the other wants to find it. Remember, in 1996 the Island "Purge" had already happened, so Ben's a wanted man at that point. However, I'm not sure why the Hanso family would suddenly release the journal that they had kept in their family for over a hundred years, especially since they have connections to the Island as well. Hmmmm...
There was one other, small item that I noticed. When Sayid, Desmond, and Minkowski figured out that they needed to get out of their holding cell and up to the communications room, the door was suddenly left ajar for them. While we are probably lead to believe that Frank the pilot helped them out ("believe it or not, I'm trying to help you here"), I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that Micheal may be roaming the ship's corridors, and may have nudged it open for them. Again, I may be way off base here, but I just don't think that we've seen the last of him. It seems more and more likely to me that Micheal could be Ben's mole.
Whew! Well that's enough info for now. I hope at least some of the above makes sense, cause this week was a tough one. But one thing is for sure, the writers aren't screwing around this year. I'm almost wishing for a slow, sappy show next week...who'd ever think that day would come?
A coworker of mine has told me on a couple occasions that Lost can be summed up in the following way: the show itself represents a mosaic, or a puzzle, if you will. The puzzle has a definitive structure and story to tell, but that story can only be told once all the pieces are in place. Meaning that the writers have known all along how our story begins and ends, but instead of telling the story in a linear fashion, they instead have chosen to give us bits and pieces over time. And every once and a while one of those pieces falls into place, perfectly displaying a full picture in front of us. It sounds simple, yes, but the mind boggling episode that we witnessed last week is a perfect example of our puzzle coming together.
For example, the events of this week's episode explain what has been happening with Desmond ever since he turned the key in the Season 2 finale. If you recall, Desmond turned the fail safe key in the Swan hatch, which we later learned unleashed a significant electromagnetic pulse and "turned the sky purple." We didn't revisit Desmond's fate until the 8th episode of the third season. In that episode, entitled "Flashes before your Eyes," we were introduced to this notion of "time travel" in Lost. Desmond was experiencing past events...he bumped into Charlie playing on the street, and he met that crazy clock lady, who informed him that instead of buying an engagement ring for Penny, that he'd leave her and end up on an Island pushing a button for three years in order to save the world. Furthermore, he started to experience the "flashes" that predicted a number of future events, including poor Charlie's death. While at the time we were pretty confused about it all, we now have some sort of understanding of what was happening to Desmond. Almost a full season later, we learned that it wasn't necessarily Desmond's body that travels through time, but instead, it's his mind, or consciousness, that is making the trip. And it's due to the fact that he was 1) exposed to a massive does of electromagnetism during the hatch blast (how convenient) and 2) that the Helicopter veered ever so slightly off it's course off the Island to produce a certain side effect: becoming unstuck in time.
Let's talk about this phrase "unstuck in Time." It struck me as rather familiar when I first heard it, and I had originally thought that it was mentioned in a previous episode, until I later realized that it in fact came from a classic novel that I had coincidentally recently re-read: Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. For those that don't remember the details of a novel that you probably read back in high school, Slaughterhouse Five is on the surface an anti-war novel written about the WWII fire bombing of Dresden, but it also focuses on its protaganist's (Billy Pilgrim) penchant for becoming "unstuck in time" and traveling to future and past events in his life. Moreover, he is abducted by an alien race, the Tralfamadorians, a race of beings that, among other things, experience Time all at once. As stated in the novel: "“All moments, past, present, and future, always have existed, always will exist. The Tralfamadorians can look at all the different moments just the way we can look at a stretch of the Rocky Mountains, for instance.” The Tralfamadorians, for instance, don't get sad at funerals because it is an event that they have seen and experienced just as they experience all other events in Time concurrently. In essence, they experience the world in 4 dimensions rather than 3, with Time acting as the 4rth axis.
Does this depiction of Time sound familiar? Whether or not you realize it, it is how we, the viewers, watch Lost unfold from week to week. The show is literally shot from the perspective that Time is its own dimension...we are privy what is happening in the present time, the past, and now, the future. Just like my co-worker's Mosaic example, we are seeing the show unfold from all times, and with that the larger picture becomes clearer and clearer.
Interesting.
And one quick illustration of experiencing different Time periods simultaneously in the story of the show can be seen when Desmond finally connects with Penny on the Freighter phone. In this rather touching scene, we see and feel both Freighter Desmond's happiness upon hearing her voice, as well as seeing 1996 Desmond crack a smile of relief as he is walking away from Penny's flat after procuring her number. At this time, "both" Desmond's are experiencing the same emotions simultaneously, even though they are 8 years apart. The connection has been made, and he knows he is safe. In Des's words to Sayid after the call, "I'm perfect, Brotha."
Now, I bet your thinking, how does that explain the fact that Time is clearly moving at a different pace on the Island versus off the Island. To that, I don't know. There is some information that I have seen out there that talks a lot about all the physics diagrams that we saw in Daniel's notebook, but honestly, it makes my head hurt and I won't even attempt to get in to it at the moment. Additionally, the episode opens itself up to a classic "time travel" paradox; and that is: how could present day Daniel NOT remember that Desmond visited him in the past to tell him the solution to an equation that he had been working on for some time? Clearly that would be a momentous occasion that would not be forgotten. At the moment, I'm not buying Desmond's answer, "maybe you forgot," when past Daniel poses the same question to him at the university. But we know that future Daniel DID in fact meet up with Desmond in 1996 (and that it wasn't a parallel universe or anything), because he wrote in his notebook at the time that Desmond would "be his Constant."
Regardless, the fact that passage through to the Island can cause such dramatic effects can help explain a number of things. Obviously, we've seen how it explains Des's past and future flashes. But I am willing to bet that it has influenced or caused the following occurrences: Locke's connection with the Island (and his dramatic cure from paralysis), Ben's ability to manipulate people and somehow always know how certain events will unravel, Richard Alpert's ageless quality, the "sickness" that Rousseau's crew contracted (nosebleeds and brain aneurysms people!), Walt's mysterious appearances, and most importantly: Jacob. Could it be that Jacob is trapped in some sort of Island time loop? Could it be that his cabin has existed in different locations in a number of different time periods, which would why Locke can't seem to find it at the present time? The only words that we have heard Jacob utter are "Help me." I don't know about you, but if I was trapped in some sort of space time continuum mind warp, I'd probably want some help too.
These are all wild guesses and most likely way off base, but I do think that the writers have given us a very important piece to the overall Lost puzzle in "The Constant." While we aren't necessarily closer to definitive answers, we will continuously look back to the revelations offered in "The Constant" as keys to unlocking many of the Island's mysteries.
Of course, this whole time business wasn't the only thing that went down in this episode. What about that auction? The item up for sale was the journal of the first mate of the Black Rock (auction #2342 by the way...the same number that Desmond gave Daniel to make the rat experiment to work). The journal itself had been in the possession of the Hanso family (as described by the auctioneer) - specifically and most recently Tovard Hanso - for over a hundred years. If you remember, our old buddy Alvar Hanso was the founder of the Dharma Initiative. So assuming he and Tovard are related, we can see the connections to the Island and the Black Rock (was there a Hanso on board way back when?). While Whidmore eventually won the auction, there was a silent bidder on the phone...who could that have been? My guess is either Ben or Abbadon. Both have vested interests in the item...one wants to protect the Island, and the other wants to find it. Remember, in 1996 the Island "Purge" had already happened, so Ben's a wanted man at that point. However, I'm not sure why the Hanso family would suddenly release the journal that they had kept in their family for over a hundred years, especially since they have connections to the Island as well. Hmmmm...
There was one other, small item that I noticed. When Sayid, Desmond, and Minkowski figured out that they needed to get out of their holding cell and up to the communications room, the door was suddenly left ajar for them. While we are probably lead to believe that Frank the pilot helped them out ("believe it or not, I'm trying to help you here"), I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that Micheal may be roaming the ship's corridors, and may have nudged it open for them. Again, I may be way off base here, but I just don't think that we've seen the last of him. It seems more and more likely to me that Micheal could be Ben's mole.
Whew! Well that's enough info for now. I hope at least some of the above makes sense, cause this week was a tough one. But one thing is for sure, the writers aren't screwing around this year. I'm almost wishing for a slow, sappy show next week...who'd ever think that day would come?
posted by Rutherford at
6:18 PM
2 Comments:
Nice catch on the "The Children's crusade" which is another name,i think, for Slaughterhouse five. It was a favorite book of mine in HS. I flipped out during the episode when it occurred to me.
Could Daniel's crying while watching the news about the crash be linked to "time travel"? Maybe he was remembering Desmond or it could be a moment when he traveled back and was losing it.
I like that...especially relevant seeing that he "didn't know" why he was crying. Just like how Desmond freaked out after "coming to" in the chopper. Good thought.
And yes, Slaughterhouse Five's full titles is "Slaughterhouse Five: Or the Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death."
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