Lost Update: Wondrous Boat Ride

Lost Update - Season Six - 04/20/2010

Round the world and home again
That's the sailor's way
Faster faster, faster faster

There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing

Is it raining, is it snowing
Is a hurricane a-blowing

Not a speck of light is showing
So the danger must be growing
Are the fires of Hell a-glowing
Is the grisly reaper mowing

Yes, the danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing
And they're certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing

The song above is titled, Wondrous Boat Ride and can be heard in the episode preview for tonight's program. The song is from the movie, Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory. And this is significant folks. One particular line in the song, (There's no earthly way of knowing Which direction we are going) touches on exactly what is happening to the island castaways and sums up my Lost theory.

Just what is the Grassy Knoll Institutes Lost theory….I’ve been waiting six years to tell you…..
Although it appears the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 are on a tropical island, they are being deceived. There is no island. The survivors are in a virtual reality laboratory. All the castaways are interconnected to one another sharing each others thoughts, memories, and feelings. While in this virtual reality laboratory, a battery of physical and mental experiments are performed on them. And who is running these experiments? As Juliet stated, the Aliens of course.

So it finally comes down to this. Willy Wonka! I was waiting for the Oompa Loompa's to throw down a song about why its bad to leave the island. Alas, no Oompa's break dancing but tonight's episode still had a Wonka feel to it.

Case in point, the lyrics focus on the boat ride the guests took with Wonka. Wonka started chanting strange lines, (Read the lyrics at the top of the post again) and a key line was "There's no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going." As in, is Sawyer and the renegade gang going in the right direction? Should they have left the Smoky group? Should they have allowed Claire on board? Should Sawyer have let Jack jump off the boat? All good questions, all with answers to follow.

But enough with Willy and his chocolate factory for now. We need to focus on Jack, Sawyer, and Sayid. Some very significant things happened to them tonight. Jack was broken, Sawyer was a leader, and Sayid reverted back to the good side.

Waaaaayyyyy back in season one, Jack was the hero, the leader, the man with the plan, the man everyone listened to. A man that wanted nothing more than to get the Hell off the island. Tonight, Jack was a broken man, a man taking orders from Hurley, and from Sawyer. Jack became a follower. And his point of view was a complete 180. He believed he was supposed to stay on the island. Notice how he didn't argue with Sawyer on the boat, and just jumped off the boat into the water?

Some of you are asking So what? Let me explain. As my theory states, the castaways are being experimented on. Jack was the Alpha male in the beginning. After being exposed to a variety of stimuli, Jack became docile, let me say, domesticated. That was Jack's test. What would it take to break him? He is now pliable, open to suggestion. Ready to accept his fate. Whatever it may be.

Next is Sawyer. If you remember, he was a loner, out for himself. Tonight, he was the man with the plan and instead of staking out on his own, he brought the group along to safety. He tells Jack on the boat, you're either with us, or against us. Us being the key word. He was part of the group. Sawyer also did a complete 180 in personality. He was given the means to achieve and do the right thing, and he took it.

Sayid is last. Sayid was the good guy with the Iraqi past. He was always helping, fixing, protecting. Tonight, he is soul less. He made a pact with the devil, sold his soul, for a promise to be with Nadia, the love of his life. A promise that will never be fulfilled. Remember, dead is dead. And Nadia is dead. However, Sayid pulled a 360 tonight. First he was good, then bad, than good again as he lied to Smoky and I'm betting he did not kill Desmond.

All three men have been manipulated to the extreme. All three have felt love, hatred, heartache, and lost the love of their life. All three men traveled the psychological spectrum in approximately 115 days of living on the island. These three men, as all the other castaways, are being tested, manipulated, molded into different people. For what purpose is yet an unknown. To save the world? Perhaps! Or perhaps a more sinister ending. Like the one I have foreseen. (I sound like the Emperor on Star Ward now) I have foreseen it. It is your destiny.)

One last point and then we'll get to the tidbits. The castaways are once again reunited. Jack states that we're all different now. Sort of like a reset to a video game. Changing the skill level, the players, the parameters. Perhaps this is the final level of the game and its time to use what you have learned to win. And sometimes, the only way to win the game, is not to play.

Tidbits From Tonight's Show:

* Smoky admits he took the form of Christian Shepard. Can you believe him? Yea, I sort of do.
* In the side flash, Sun recognized Locke as both were being wheeled in to emergency.
* Claire tells Jack that he already decided to go with Smoky the moment he allowed him to talk. Like it or not, you're with him now.
* Sounds like Satan doesn't it? There's your shout out to all the religion theory folks.
* After the bomb goes off, Smoky says, well, here we go. He is ready for battle as Zoe demands Desmond be released.
* Desmond is at it again in the side flash. This time helping Claire and Ilana. And perhaps Jack as well. Could be the new Jacob huh?
* I thought Claire was going to shoot Kate at the boat. I really did. However, she will get hers later. They all will. Oops!
* In the side flash, Jin tells Sun its OK, we're all going to be fine now.
* Jin and Sun reunited. Touching moment. But it won't last long.
* Zoe captures the Sawyer gang, tells him the deal is off, and they are prisoners.
* Jack swims to the island. Meets Smoky. Nice day for a swim. Bomb explodes. Jack is knocked down. Smoky carries him to safety. Tells Jack, don't worry, you're with me now.
* Jack ready to operate on Locke in the side flash. So Desmond wasn't crazy after all. Jack will heal Locke.

May 23rd is just over a month away for the series finale. What a hell of a boat ride its been. And after six years of episodes and speculation, Willy Wonka stays true to his words when he sings,
There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing

Until next week. Get Lost.

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LURKING, STILL LOST ON THE GRASSY KNOLL