'Lost': The circle of trust

On Wednesday night's episode of "Lost," given the geeky yet cool title, "Some Like It Hoth," Miles Straum, a greatly under-utilized character so far in the series, was brought into the Dharma Initiative's "circle of trust" and finally given a chance to shine.

What we learned, not surprisingly, is that like every other major character on "Lost," he's got some big daddy issues. In this case, he's been haunted by the belief that his dad kicked him and his mother out of his life when he was still an infant. What Miles learned in this episode was that his dad, Pierre Chang of the Dharma instructional videos, appeared to love him very, very much. So what caused him to cast his wife and child out of his life? We don't know for sure, but I'm willing to bet that it's something Miles and his time-traveling buddies do and that Pierre's decision was for Baby Miles'  safety.

Meanwhile, Miles was brought into Horace, Radzinsky and Chang's "circle of trust" by having to deliver a dead body to Chang at the construction site of the Orchid Station. It seems the island's electromagnetic properties contributed to the poor sap's death by causing his tooth filling to shoot out through his brain, but Horace and company seemed very intent on keeping anything about it a big secret. And while the threat to life and limb the Dharmas pose to our Oceanic heroes still seems very real, the more we see of the (mostly) men and women of the Dharma Initiative, the sillier their whole group appears. Almost like the people at the top of the chain are just playing the part of tough guy adventurer/scientists while in reality having no real idea what they're doing or what they're dealing with. They're in way over their heads, and the mysterious, spooky organization we all speculated about so much in the second season is rapidly turning into a bit of a joke. That's not a knock on the show or its writing or acting. I think this was the intention all along. This trip back in time is rapidly demystifying the past while demonstrating humanity's tendency toward hubris. With someone like Richard Alpert in your backyard, you shouldn't go around acting too cocky.

And did anyone catch the lesson Jack was erasing from the blackboard in Othertown's schoolhouse? It looked like the Dharma's kids were studying ancient Egypt. Yet another pointer to the true nature of the island and it's Hostile inhabitants. (The hieroglyphics on the left of the board seem to translate to "Writing of the words of God.")

Actor Ken Leung shined in this episode, though here's hoping his ability to commune with the dead ties in with the greater picture very soon. So far it's been more of a novelty than a crucial element to the show. And as for the budding relationship with his father, are we to read more into the "Star Wars" theme of this episode than the surface joke? (Remember that Dr. Chang appeared in one of the Dharma videos missing an arm. Miles' doing?)

As for Hurley's brilliant idea to write the script for George Lucas on "Empire Strikes Back" "with improvements," I wonder why no one else has attempted to take advantage of their knowledge of the future like this? If the rules hold up as Faraday said, then nothing they do will change what's already happened. So it's too bad no one's thought to try and communicate off-island to invest in Microsoft or something. Come to think of it, maybe that's what Faraday was doing....

And I have to hand it to "Lost" once again for completely disorienting me in regard to the "What lies in the shadow of the statue" club. Last week I was 99% certain they worked for Widmore. This week? I have no idea who they work for. Miss Hawking? Ben? Faraday? No idea, but I do know that whatever they have in that crate they brought to the island won't be good for our heroes. They may be the side that's gonna win, but that doesn't seem to be a thrilling option. The Dharma Initiative may have been dangerous, but at least they were kind of goofs at heart. These guys seem much more together. And much more lethal because of it.

No "Lost" next week. Clip show. Here's hoping the premise has Sawyer, Kate, Jack, Juliet and Hurley stuck inside Hurley's cabin on a rainy day, flashing back to previous episodes. Just like those great "Night Court" clip shows. Ah, "Night Court"....

-- Patrick Kevin Day

Photo: Ken Leung as Miles Straum on "Lost." Credit: ABC

Comments

[Mitleid]

We gave Hurley a standing ovation when he was talking about his "improvements" to The Empire Strikes Back. Our joke about the demise of the Emperor in Jedi has always been "you mean we just had to throw him over a railing?"

[Andrew]

The gang in the black van that picked up miles made me think of the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. What lies in the shadow of the statue? If you don't know, you're not ready to go to the island. Do you seek it for the glory of the island or yourself?

[maria]

Hey Patrick, I like your blog. I'm wondering if you can help answer a question. Do we know how the Dharma initiative found the island? We know now that Widmore was an "other," right, or some sort of military dude that became an "other'? But if the island is so elusive, and impossible to find, how did the Dharma people end up on it? Could it be Eloise? I can't remember if this has been answered or not, but I was hoping you could help find the answer! Thanks!

[Patrick Kevin Day]

Eloise Hawking revealed the Dharman's method of finding the island underneath the church in Los Angeles. It was the Lamp Post station, which she said was constructed by a very "clever fellow." We don't know who that clever fellow is, but I suspect it's one of the time travellers.

[Andrew]

I think the bigger question of how Dharma knew the Island exists is tangled up in the biggest question: what's the deal with the island?

[Angeliki]

I love your blog and comments on LOST.
Are you aware of this theory? What do you think?
Will Alex destroy the island??

http://timelooptheory.com/the_timeline.html

http://timelooptheory.com/lost_timeline.jpg

[Colleen]

When I realized they were in 1977 one of my first thoughts was "Buy Microsoft!". LOL. If Miles really wants $3.2 million, that might be a good way to go about it. I liked Hurley trying to write "The Empire Strikes Back" with "improvements". I'd love to see his improved version. Finally, I wonder if the creepy "What lies in the shadow of the statue" people are really.... DHARMA. A modern version of DHARMA. I too thought they were Widmore people in "Dead is Dead". But, clearly not. And they aren't Ben's people. How funny if Ben and Widmore turn out to be on the same side. Others vs. DHARMA. Just some wild thoughts.