Team Others

           Who are the others? One of the most asked questions for the first two seasons until many of them were answered in the third season. In the first season all we knew was that they were already on the island before the crash and that they are in the baby stealing business. And with pregnant Claire and everybody having so much unprotected sex on the island, the business was a booming. Hell, they stole Walt right off the raft in the first season right before burning it.

The mindblowing season 3 premiere shows
that the others are actually civilized. WHHAAAT?

            They are ruthless, skilled, strong, and most importantly…silent. Their footsteps make no sound as they walk. They dress in savage clothing to hide their comfy suburban lifestyle on the island, as shown in the photo. But their story is even more complex.

            Although they may steal children and often kill off one or two minor characters, the others are actually quite docile people, especially when they have an alternative motive. In the third season we get behind the scenes of the others and see what they're really all about. After they kidnap Jack, Kate, and Sawyer, the others befriend Jack, the spinal surgeon, in hopes to recruit him to Team Others so that he could perform surgery on their leader's spine. Fate? That's what the others think.

The Dharma Initiative after Benjamin Lunis gassed them.

            But a leader doesn't become a leader unless he takes a little something. Benjamin Linus, the leader, was recruited on the island as a child when his father got a job in the Dharma Initiative, a covert company in conflict with the island natives (the others). When child abuse from his father caught up to him as an adult, Linus took revenge on his father and all those in the Dharma program by wiping them out with poison gas. By doing this, Linus took the opportunity to rule the island with the others.

            While this may be massively confusing, remember that the show has six seasons and lots of time to explain this in detail. Nevertheless, the others provided the most mystery on the island, and the most entertainment on the couch for me.

"Christian" Shepherd - Father of Lost

Lost reinforces the theme of religion throughout the show constantly. One of the first examples was with the introduction of the character Christian Shepherd. His name alone rings with religious symbolism. 

Dr. Christian Shephard played by John Terry

A Christian is one who belongs to the faith of Christianity. Within this faith is the belief in the holy trinity. Christian represents the father, the protector. Jack is the son, with much to learn. The smoke monster (the man in black) is, as you guessed, the holy spirit.

Okay maybe it was a stretch comparing Jack to Jesus and the menacing smoke monster to the holy spirit but you know what I mean.

Before the island, Christian was a prestigious doctor until he was brought down by his son when he performed an operation under the influence. Spinning in a whirlpool of despair, Christian runs off to Australia where he hopes to reconcile with his daughter (Claire). Ironically, Christian travels with Ana Lucia (another crash survivor). After ruining his relationship with Ana Lucia, Christian stumbled into a bar, meeting Sawyer.

While his actions and intentions in his mortal life proved otherwise, Christian's spirituality grew in his afterlife on the island. Only in the afterlife was Christian a representative of his last name. A shepherd is one who watches after sheep (represented as weak, defenseless and misguided) and provides protection. Without giving too much away,  the finale of the show revealed that Christian has always been a guardian. He watches over the souls of the survivors making sure they achieve nirvana in one life or the next. (My apologies if this is confusing. I assure you, because the show is longer, it is way less confusing.)

Christian Shephard may have had some skeletons in his closet while alive, but through death he was offered a second chance at redemption. The greatest gift the island could give is second chances.

See you next week Lost lovers.

The Sound of Being Lost

           The team that went into making Lost took professionalism to a new dimension. They were able to maintain the dramatic tone encompassing excitement that keeps you on the edge of your seat as well as make you feel closer to the show.

Giacchino at the Oscars accepting his award in 2010.

            One of the ways the show draws you in is because of the music. This imperative element lets one know when something exciting or comedic or heartwarming will happen. The music for Lost was successfully composed by Michael Giacchino, who has composed the score for numerous films such as Star Trek, Super 8, and Disney Pixar's Up for which he won an Oscar in 2010. 

            My favorite musical piece from the show is from season 2 right after Rose prevents Hurley from blowing up the food pantry after not being able to handle the responsibility. Hurley decides to hand out all the food to the plane passengers and try to be the good guy instead. The music that plays in this scene perfectly captures the moment and mood which is vital when entertaining an audience. The youtube clip below shows the scene with the music, unfortunately the small amount of dialogue is in Spanish.

            It was this scene where I fell in love with the show because of the perfect blend of emotion and spontaneity the show brings to the table sometimes. At the end of the scene, the show reveals that a husband and wife separated by the crash are alive. During this emotional scene the music is there to comfort you immediately. Only Lost could have characters and music that can evoke emotions never experienced before. Usually the end of the show ends in a BANG, usually leaving a cliffhanger for next week's episode. The episode with this scene ends very pleasantly with a musical conclusion, leaving the audience with some closure on the characters.

            Not only is the music fantastic, but it is fairly simple. Giacchino occasionally uses the same melodies for "same-genred" scenes.  For the action scenes, Giacchino use a variation of the same tune but will make small adjustments for each scene. In emotional scenes he will use the same music but change it slightly, customizing his music to fit each scene perfectly. He also did this for the Up soundtrack, still winning the hearts of millions.

            Great job on Lost and I'm looking forward to your future projects.