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Supposed toAt this point, it's pretty clear that much of Lost is concerned with things happening the way they are "supposed to" -- possibly the most repeated phrase on the show.
We know some things were supposed to happen and did happen (I will be short for now):
Desmond was supposed to go to the Island and push the button.
Locke was supposed to find the Pearl hatch.
Some of our heroes were supposed to be on the plane.
Charlie was supposed to die.
We also suspect that some things were supposed to happen, but didn't:
Locke was supposed to come to the Island sooner.
Charlie was supposed to die before reaching the Looking Glass.
Locke was supposed to find the Pearl rather than the Swan.
Eko was supposed to stop John from destroying the Swan.
And we have been told (by sources of varying credibility) that some things are NOT supposed to happen.
The Oceanic Six were not supposed to leave the Island.
Jack is not supposed to raise Aaron.
Aaron is not supposed to be "raised by another."
So what else was supposed to happen? And what wasn't? And if something wasn't supposed to happen, are we seeing the universe "course-correcting" as the show goes on? Methinks if you figure out these questions, you figure out Lost. Here are a few of the more pressing ones:
Was Flight 815 supposed to crash?
Was Christian Shepherd supposed to die?
Who is Aaron supposed to be raised by?
Was Sarah supposed to be cured by Jack?
Finally, who defines "supposed to"? In the case of Aaron, for instance, we've heard a few different things about where he's supposed to be and in whose custody. The Locke hatch saga is quite unclear as well -- Was he supposed to find the Pearl and never the Swan? Was he supposed to save the Swan or damn it? Was he supposed to go to the Island as a boy?
Are we getting conflicting messages about what is supposed to happen?
Are there two sides (or more) issuing these "supposetahs"?
Can we discern a pattern in the supposetahs?
Can we discern a pattern of course-correction in relation to failed supposetahs in what happens on the Island?
Some memorable "supposetahs"...
S1E19
Locke: We didn't find this by accident. We're supposed to...
Boone: Oh, we're supposed to. We're supposed to find this, right? We're supposed to open it, right? Then tell me something, John, if we're supposed to open it, then why the hell haven't we opened it yet?
Locke: I don't know, Boone, but we're supposed to go to this place. We're supposed to find that plane. Will you come with me?
S2E3
Locke: This isn't... this isn't what was supposed to happen!
Jack: What was supposed to happen?
S2E22
Charlie: Well, what about the church? You said we were supposed to be building it together, man.
Mr. Eko: I am supposed to do something different now.
S3E3
Locke: I'm going in there because I'm supposed to go in there.
S3E8
Ms. Hawking: Because it wouldn't matter. Had I warned him about the scaffolding, tomorrow he'd be hit by a taxi. If I warned him about the taxi, he'd fall in the shower and break his neck. The universe, unfortunately, has a way of...course correcting. That man was supposed to die. That was his path. Just as it's your path to go to the island. You don't do it because you choose to, Desmond. You do it because you are supposed to.
S3E17
Desmond: The flashes don't happen exactly how I saw them. The picture changes. I was supposed to let you die, Charlie.
S3E21
Desmond: Maybe I keep seeing you die because...I'm supposed to take your place.
Charlie: You and I both know. You're not supposed to take my place, brother.
S4E5
Desmond: No, this is wrong! I'm not supposed to be...
Desmond: I'm not supposed to be here.
Desmond: I'm not supposed to be here!
Desmond: I'm not supposed to be here! Open this door! Open this door!
Daniel Faraday: No, no, no. Not right now, Desmond. Where are you supposed to be? Where are you in 1996?
The final quotes, I think, bear elaboration. The reason we know Island weirdness is at work is when someone is NOT where they are SUPPOSED TO be, whether it's Walt, Christian, Yemi or a black horse. So supposetahs aren't just action-commands -- and you can see this in the above quotes -- they are also about being where you ought.
Posted by J.M. Berger || Permalink
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5 Comments:
Hey JM! Sorry to post an off-topic comment but I'm curious to get your insights about the changing trigrams on the Orchid logo. Do you attach any significance to this? Is there any relevant change in meaning? Or do you suppose it's simply a prop error? I figured that, if anyone would be able to answer this question, it's you. Looking forward to your reply!
Hi, BM -- I am out of town on business for a couple weeks, but I hadn't noticed the change. Will look at a screencap when I have time and get back...
I am a huge fan of yours JMB. Also a fan of BM. I believe we now have proof the trigram arrangement has changed.
Original Logo
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:TheOrchid.png
Ben's Parka Logo
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:Bensparkalogo_Final3.jpg
Logo at Dharma booth at ComicCon SD
http://www.lostpedia.com/images/6/6f/Comic-con_OGR2.jpg
I wait in anticipation of your interpretation.
Thanks!!!!
Thanks, KG!
The Orchid logo is an inverted version of the regular Dharma logo. The trigrams are upside down relative to the normal King Wen arrangement.
From the perspective of the i-Ching that means processes are running in reverse -- i.e., time is flowing backward or more accurately, it's "out of joint." It's not perfectly backward because several of the trigrams don't change when you reverse them, so only four are "flipped."
There's no traditional meaning for this arrangment which doesn't appear "in nature," so to speak. It is more a case of suggesting that the normal functioning of process, change, time or the universe in general is not running under normal parameters.
Good catch!
The Kudo's for the catch is all BigMouth's. I cannot wait to see both of your interpretations of this new information. Plus all the great info coming in from ComicCon.
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