Lost 6x11: "Happily Ever After"

[DevilEyes]

Terrific episode, but I dunno if it's smart for the writers to want us to believe the sideways verse is the "wrong" one. As a threat that needs to be avoided, it lacks punch. Several of the characters (Ben especially) have better lives in the sideways verse and other characters are at least alive and sane. The universe seems to want to return to a state where everyone is less happy. Hmm, that would explain a lot about things.

Even if the prime universe were superior to the FS universe (why? they're both equally real apparently), the existence of the FS universe is not endangering the prime universe in any way, as far as we know. Why would Desmond need to do anything on the Island?

There are clues that suggest that it's one universe or the other and they can't both co-exist. Widmore said something about everyone vanishing in the last episode.

He said that about MIB getting off the Island. We've seen that in the FS reality, neither of them have stopped existing. Ji Yeon and Charlie Hume haven't been born yet, but neither were they in the prime universe in September/October 2004. And Desmond has evidently flashed to the FS reality and back, which means that they can co-exist, and the world did not end.

 

[TheGodBen]

What would it take you to be convinced that your existence was somehow wrong?

I've felt that way for the last two and a half years. This episode got its motivation spot on.

Excellent episode. I thought bringing Desmond back was a gimmick last week, but it's great how they're tying the story back into the Flashes Before Your Eyes time-travel stuff in season 3. Hopefully they'll get around to explaining why pushing the button was so important, it would really make to make hatch stuff feel more important to the plot rather than one long side-track.

 

[Jenee]

What about Sawyer? His life is infinitely better in the alternate universe.

He's no longer a criminal (unless he did the same thing in Australia) but he still lost his parents. Even though he's not a con man he still hasn't been able to have a real relationship with a woman.

I don't know. I think being a cop - an "upstanding citizen" is better than being a criminal regardless of the rest of your life's circumstances.

Besides, just because things with Charlotte didn't go so well doesn't mean he can't have a real relationship with a woman.

 

[sidious618]

What would it take you to be convinced that your existence was somehow wrong?

I've felt that way for the last two and a half years. This episode got its motivation spot on.

Excellent episode. I thought bringing Desmond back was a gimmick last week, but it's great how they're tying the story back into the Flashes Before Your Eyes time-travel stuff in season 3. Hopefully they'll get around to explaining why pushing the button was so important, it would really make to make hatch stuff feel more important to the plot rather than one long side-track.

Pushing the button would prevent the electromagnetism from exploding again.

 

[RoJoHen]

What would it take you to be convinced that your existence was somehow wrong?

I've felt that way for the last two and a half years. This episode got its motivation spot on.

Excellent episode. I thought bringing Desmond back was a gimmick last week, but it's great how they're tying the story back into the Flashes Before Your Eyes time-travel stuff in season 3. Hopefully they'll get around to explaining why pushing the button was so important, it would really make to make hatch stuff feel more important to the plot rather than one long side-track.

Pushing the button would prevent the electromagnetism from exploding again.

Hmm...this has me thinking: why haven't there been any more big electromagnetic events related to the Swan site? The Hatch is blown up. The button is gone. Shouldn't the Swam be, like, constantly exploding?

 

[Adm. Bonz]

It hasn't really been that long....couple of days, max.

But maybe the nuke altered its properties, and now its on a big buildup to the finale.

 

[RoJoHen]

It hasn't really been that long....couple of days, max.

Since it exploded in Season 2? I'm pretty sure it's been at least 3 years.

 

[Adm. Bonz]

Sorry, thinking of the "Event" last season. Whoops!

 

[RoJoHen]

Well, since that happened in 1977, it's definitely been more than a couple of days!

 

[sidious618]

The fail safe key prevented it and released the energy which moved the Island.

 

[RoJoHen]

But I mean, what's been going on since then? The sky turns purple one time, and suddenly everything is fine? If that's true, what was the point of the button at all? What were they trying to prevent by pushing it?

 

[Mallet]

When the electromagnetic energy in the Swan built up, it didn't explode. We were never told or show that that would happen. What apparently happens, is what happened during the "incident" and the time when Desmond missed pushing the button by a few minutes... The electromagnetic energy begins to suck everything metallic into it. During the incident it sucked the drill, the supports, all the metal and chains, etc... down to it. In the Swan station both times the button wasn't pushed on time it began sucking all the metal in the hatch towards it. It brought down flight 815. It never actually exploded.

What exploded was the "failsafe" that Desmond activated. Whatever that was. A bomb of some sort it is assumed, but that's not certain. The Swan station was destroyed, but by all accounts it was destroyed by an "implosion" not an explosion.

My thinking is that the "pocket" of electromagnetic energy that was buried at the Swan site was damaged by the drilling during the incident. This caused a "leak" in the otherwise contained energy. To patch this leak the dharma people dumped tons on concrete over the hole in the pocket. This worked well to keep the energy from leaking out, but it did not repair the damage, just covered it. The energy kept leaking out behind the "patch" so it had to be vented off by pressing the button every 108 minutes. If the energy wasn't vented, it would build up too much and break through the concrete patch and begin sucking all the metal in to it. The failsafe just blew up the entire pocket of electromagnetic energy for good.

Why didn't they just blow it up in the first place? Well it is obviously very rare and valuable and they didn't want to destroy it. Maybe they wanted to keep studying it? Maybe they hoped to be able to fully fix it one day? Whatever the reason was, they didn't destroy it, but did build the failsafe just in case one day it went out of control. A good thing to, because Dharma obviously wasn't expecting to get wiped out during the purge.

Now the question is how bad/powerful was the energy in the pocket? if it was just a giant magnet then it wouldn't be a big deal. But if it was powerful enough that if left exposed and not contained then it might keep growing and eventually suck in all the metal from across the planet, then it was a very dangerous thing indeed. So it is good that they "blew" it up.

 

[sidious618]

Exactly. I'm sure they wanted to keep on studying it. DHARMA wasn't exactly the nicest of organizations.

 

[Mr Light]

The Swan poked a hole in the dam of energy and caused it to continually leak out and build up a charge. If you don't squeak off the build-up it will explode. But when they blew up the Swan, they plugged the hole forever. I'm pretty sure they explained this in "Live Together Die Alone" when Des is talking about the fail safe.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

But I mean, what's been going on since then? The sky turns purple one time, and suddenly everything is fine? If that's true, what was the point of the button at all? What were they trying to prevent by pushing it?

To be fair, no one knew what would happen if you turned that key. Just that you wouldn't have to push the button (possibly because it would end the world).

 

[TheGodBen]

Pushing the button would prevent the electromagnetism from exploding again.

I should really stop posting after 1am, I never get my point across well.

What I meant to say was that I hope the stuff to do with the electromagnetism and the button is somehow tied in with the MIB. Perhaps the electromagnetic properties of the island are part of what keeps him trapped on the island, and now that one of those patches imploded he has his best chance of escaping, or something. That's why not pushing the button would end the world, not the force of the electromagnetism, but the fact that the MIB would escape. That way the Losties' actions back in season 2 (particularly Locke's) will be what led them to the situation they're now in.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

To be fair, I don't think the Dharma Initiative knew about the Man in Black aside from the fact that he was smoke, killed people, and sonic fences kept him at bay. The "end of the world" comments were probably related simply to the big pocket of energy and how they had no idea what it could do.

Now it's entirely possible the pockets kept Smokey trapped, but I don't think Kelvin Inman knew that.

 

[Jenee]

You know ... That could be why, for the first time in ...?2 millenia? Jacob goes off the island and actively recruites candidates.

Dharma, during The Incident broke through this field, and the field is slowly leaking energy into a pocket that regularly needs to be siphoned off. Jacob and MIB both know that eventually that's not going to work and the electromagnetic field keeping MIB/evil contained will eventually weaken enough for him to escape.

So, Jacab, knowing this confrontation with MIB will possibly kill him, builds a lighthouse to find prospective candidates to bring to the island for 'recruit training'.

...

The problem is ..., from the beginning .... first with Rose and Locke, then the others and Ben, even MIB and Jacob speak of protecting the island. It's never about protecting Jacob or ... containing whatever is on the island. They continue to talk about protecting the island - the cork.

The theory about MIB being the evil that needs to be contained still doesn't fit. He says the island doesn't need protection. He says the island can take care of itself.

He doesn't say anything a normal captive would say. He doesn't say "they're keeping me against my will". He doesn't proclaim his innocence. He just says he's done "protecting the island".

 

[TheGodBen]

To be fair, I don't think the Dharma Initiative knew about the Man in Black aside from the fact that he was smoke, killed people, and sonic fences kept him at bay. The "end of the world" comments were probably related simply to the big pocket of energy and how they had no idea what it could do.

Now it's entirely possible the pockets kept Smokey trapped, but I don't think Kelvin Inman knew that.

It never seemed like Kelvin or Radzinsky knew much about the swan station, they were only told that pushing the button saved the world, they even had to make their own map of the island after the Purge. As for what Dharma knew about Smokey, I kind of lost interest in season 5 so I've forgotten much of what was established there, but is it possible that some of the higher ups in the organisation knew? Or in the worst case scenario, after the incident Jacob may have had Richard relay a message to the Dharma guys about the importance of maintaining that pocket of electromagnetism in order to "save the world".

Okay, so it doesn't fit exactly, but I'd just like for their to have been some consequences from the hatch implosion. All of season 2 there was a plot about pressing the button, and I felt cheated in the finale when I learned that all they had to do all along was turn a key and the button problem goes away. I felt even more cheated in season 3 when I learned that everyone inside the hatch survived the implosion, even the guy that turned the key. I just want some consequences from that implosion in order to justify that whole season of button pushing. It would also explain why Walt told Locke not to open the hatch; doing that would lead to the destruction of the electromagnetic pocket and allow Smokey to plot his escape.

You know ... That could be why, for the first time in ...?2 millenia? Jacob goes off the island and actively recruites candidates.

Dharma, during The Incident broke through this field, and the field is slowly leaking energy into a pocket that regularly needs to be siphoned off. Jacob and MIB both know that eventually that's not going to work and the electromagnetic field keeping MIB/evil contained will eventually weaken enough for him to escape.

So, Jacab, knowing this confrontation with MIB will possibly kill him, builds a lighthouse to find prospective candidates to bring to the island for 'recruit training'.

I really like that idea. It would certainly explain why Jacob chose the 1970s to start picking a successor.

 

[Hunter X]

It never seemed like Kelvin or Radzinsky knew much about the swan station, they were only told that pushing the button saved the world, they even had to make their own map of the island after the Purge. As for what Dharma knew about Smokey, I kind of lost interest in season 5 so I've forgotten much of what was established there, but is it possible that some of the higher ups in the organisation knew?

Radzinsky designed and built the Swan Station, so I think he knew what was going on with the button and the key and all of that. But, since this was established in season 5, your second sentence kind of explains the first.

I don't think we'll ever get a satisfactory explanation for the key, because there isn't really one. How do you build something, put it in the form of a fancy key hole in a glowing octagon, and not even know what will happen if you turn that key? And even if they somehow managed to build a failsafe into a system they didn't even fully understand and have it work just fine, why not have it as an alternate code you enter into the computer? The design and idea seem rather impractical. The answer, I'd imagine, is that a key under the station that only Desmond knows about seemed way cooler at the time.