Line of the night – “We Deserve Answers!” – Dharma Worker #2
Since I am already going through withdrawal knowing that there will never be a new episode of LOST ever again, I went out and bought Season 6 earlier today. It completes my collection of DVDs for the greatest drama ever to air on Network television, and more importantly, it provided me with 11 minutes of LOST-euphoria. The bonus disc contained a DVD-only epilogue that provided a little more closure to the series.
Don’t get me wrong, having the series end with Jack closing his eyes and ‘moving on’ was in my mind the official END to the show. This extra 11 minutes was more like a teaser to “what do Hurley and Ben do now that Jacob, Jack, and everyone else have left the island?”
So here’s how it went down:
Two Dharma workers in Dharma khaki jump suits are loading boxes of Dharma food onto pallets in a giant warehouse referred to as Dharma Logistics Warehouse in Guam. A familiar voice is heard, and Benjamin “Benry” Linus (I already miss referring to Benry in my daily conversations) walks in the warehouse stating that he’s from the home office and he’s there because the man in charge wants him to tie up a few loose ends, and to close up shop.
The Dharma workers are surprised and explain that they’ve been loading these pallets for 20 years! Ben gives them each an envelope full of cash (their severance package).
Then we get some more answers! One of the Dharma guys tries to explain that they are not closing up shop because they are still getting orders for food and supply drops. He says, “There’s a teletype before every drop.” So the workers are still getting instructions to drop the food. Ben explains that this is an automated system set up in the Lamp Post Station in Los Angeles. *If you remember from Season 5 we learned that the Lamp Post Station was able to determine where the island was going to be at any given TIME.
Ben starts to leave and asks the workers to lock up and shut off the lights on the way out, when suddenly Dharma worker #2 says, “WE DESERVE ANSWERS!” Spoken like a devout fan of the show. Ben allows them to ask 1 question each.
Question 1 – Where are the food-drops going? Ben says, “An island.” "So if that’s the case, then why are the coordinates different every time for the drop?" Ben’s response, “because the island moves.”
Question 2 – Worker #2 realizes the island is somewhere in the tropics, so he wants to know what’s up with the cases and cases of Polar Bear Biscuits they have in stock. Ben informs him that there were actually several polar bears on the island and offers to show them a DVD to explain more. I even laughed a little when Benry apologized about the quality of the video because he had to transfer it from an old Beta-Max tape.
Dr. Pierre Chang comes on the TV screen and narrates the Hydra Station Orientation video. He made me laugh again when he says not to mention his name to anyone, because he did not wish to resort to aliases. This now explains why he was also referred to as Dr. Marvin Candle, Dr. Halliwax, and Dr. Wickmund.
In the Hydra Orientation video Dr. Chang refers to Hybrid birds, or ‘Hybirds’, that they were genetically developing. One of these Hybirds flew over Hurley’s head in the Season 1 finale, (Betcha didn’t remember that).
Dr. Chang also reveals to us that they used polar bears in their experiments because of their keen sense of memory and adaptability. Once a polar bear passed the memory test in their cage (like Sawyer completed in the beginning of Season 3 to win a Fish Biscuit), they were taken to the Orchid station for more experiments. Dr. Chang gives us another long awaited answer when he says, “Be sure that the female polar bears are not impregnated when taking them to the Orchid station because the electromagnetic levels at the Orchid station have an extremely harmful effect on early term gestation.”
So are you telling me that the reason women could get pregnant on the island, but not carry their babies to full term was because of the electromagnetic levels coming from the Orchid station??? Why not say that during the show, and did Ben know this all along???
Dr. Chang also explains the leather polar bear collars are actually tracking devices. So when Charlotte finds the polar bear collar in Tunisia in Season 4, it was actually a tracking device.
The Dharma initiative also did human experimentation in Room 23. They would do tests on the Hostiles to acquire knowledge, to get a better understanding of their way of life, and their reasons for worshiping a deity known as “Jacob.” This is the same room where they took Alex’s boyfriend, Karl, to be held captive back in Season 3. The Dharma scientists would inject drugs into the patient’s neck and put the funky glasses on them. The dreamlike / acid-dropping qualities of the film combined with the drugs would create amnesia and cause the Hostiles to forget when and why they were there. I guess Ben was trying to do the same thing to Karl back in Season 3.
The video ends and the 2nd Dharma worker says, “I think we’re gonna need to see that again!” John Locke said the same sort of thing when he watched the Swan station’s orientation video back in Season 2 with Jack. Benry leaves them by saying Namaste.
We transition to Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute where Ben Linus asks to meet with a patient named Keith Johnson. Does anyone remember who “Kevin Johnson” was? Well we find out that it's Walt, and he’s playing Connect 4 by himself in the psych ward play room. As Ben approaches, Walt says, “Are you here to kidnap me again!” Ben apologizes and says he’s there “because you are special, and I bet no ones told you that in a very long time.” Walt wants to know why.
Ben and his boss need Walt’s help. “We need you, you have work to do…and you can start by helping your father.” (God I wish this show wasn’t over…)
Walt responds, “My father’s dead!!” Ben comes back with, “Well that doesn’t mean you can’t help him.” So Ben and his boss (Hurley) must want Walt to come back to the island and help Michael pass over to the other side (and move on), especially since we know that Hurley can see and talk to dead people.
We transition to our final scene in this epic 11 minute fantasyfest of Lost mythology, and Ben is leading Walt to an old 1970’s VW bus that looks a heck of a lot like the Dharma VW buses. Finally we get a glimpse of Hurley who is waiting for Walt in the Van.
Hurley - “What’s up Walt…dude it’s great to see you.”
Walt - “I kept hoping that one day someone would come back for me…I thought I was crazy.”
Hurley – “You’re not crazy, not even close. You just need to get back to the island where you belong. That’s where you’ve always belonged.”
Walt – “Why?”
Hurley – (Looks over to Ben and then back to Walt) “I wanna talk to you about a job! (as he grins) Alright Ben, let’s get out of here. Time for us ALL to go home.”
The VW bus pulls away……LOST
That’s it. It’s really officially all over now. Nothing more to write, but plenty to chew on and think about. Is Walt ultimately going to replace Hurley as the protector of the island? I guess we’ll never know, but it sure is fun to think about.
It stinks that we got a quick glimpse of what life was like AFTER Jack sacrificed himself for the island and his friends. Now I want to see what happened to everyone else that got off the island…I want to see the reunion of Claire and Aaron. I want to see Sawyer meet his daughter Clementine. I want to see what the hell happens to Richard now that he’s not Jacob’s right-hand man and immortal. Will he start to age at an exponential rate like Mel Gibson in "Forever Young"?
Until some sort of LOST spin-off (wishful thinking), Namaste and Good Luck!
-Slice
