So... You wanna go in John's hatch?

If the joke for the first season was "Would you help Jack off the island?" the second season jokes involve anything with the term "John's Hatch" or "Locke's Hatch". If you don't get those, you obviously haven't been watching Lost, which I just recently finished season 2 of. Honestly, I'm not sure how people watch this week to week instead of altogether on a disc, it must be maddening. People come up with all these theories, I'm sure, because they can't just put in the next disc and find out. By the way, I'll probably be discussing some

***SPOILERS***

So, y'know, don't read this if you haven't watched Season 2 yet.

Honestly, I thought the two coolest things in season 2 were the first time you saw the timer run out and the tiles started flipping red and black with heiroglyphics and you're like "Holy crap, that is not good." and the black light blast door wall message... Which, by the way, you only see once! I wanna know what was written on it!

Now then... Having reached the end and realizing that we did learn a good bit about Dharma and seemingly what they do here, clues at least, at the same time I realized "Oh, there are sort of several issues that were kinda cast aside for this season." Like, oh right, that freaky black smoke that didn't attack Echo? I'm personally going with a theory that its some sort of physical manifestation of the pent up anger and psychosis from many of the cast and island inhabitants. An island spirit brought on by the islanders if you will. Thats why it killed the pilot, there was some sort of subconcious animosity towards the screw up who crashed the flight. Recently its not going after anyone because there's equal animosity on both sides, and not for a particular person.Also, I did some research into "108". Besides the obvious fact that the other numbers add up to it, its also linked to a lot of the Far Eastern religions... Like, pretty much all of them except ancient Shinto (Since modern incarnations borrow some from Buddhism). It is, in fact, linked to Dharma, and the "Dharmic Wheel" (As a friend called it) which is uses as its symbol. Basically, 108 in the far east is kind of like 12 over here, its a number that you would probably pretty quickly link to having significance. HOWEVER! I think its entirely a distraction. Why? Because Evangelion did the exact same thing! They stuck in a bunch of Western religious symbolism that ended up not being anything but cool cultural aesthetic. In other words, the story behind the 108 is simply that the creators of Dharma were like "Oh, Dharma is linked to 108, so will set it up so its every 108 minutes." Thats all there is to the number 108... The other numbers? Probably, again, just there to throw you off. 42 is important to Hitchhikers Guide fans. 23 could be linked to Psalm 23 which is quoted by Echo and Charlie. The others I don't know because I honestly feel they are too general and too slosely related to each to be a specific thing, but I'm sure they'll work them into the series mythology. Anyway, ultimately I don't think the numbers mean anything except that events linked to the island will continue to have those numbers pop up, because the producers know people will be distracted by them.... Distracted from the truth. The truth is my friends that I've already figured it all out! I compared the distractions to Evangelion earlier, and that is the truth in itself. The island secretly houses a geo-front beneath the soil where there are giant mecha that need CHILDREN to pilot them, hence why they kidnapped the children! However the mecha (Which there are 108 of, again, to throw you off) are not going to save the world: the Dharma initiative is going to use them to enslave the world! They aren't the good guys... They're the very bad guys. Yes this is the truth of the series, and it shall be until it is utterly shattered by Season 3.

A Little Lost

So I watched all of Season 1 of Lost (I know, I'm finally catching up right?) and, while good, there are some major gripes I have.

1. Too many characters are emotional powder kegs. I realize these people just met a month-ish ago, but they find something out or do some little thing and its all storming up to them and either instant fist fight, or hardcore tongue lashing. Especially Michael whose character description is "Angry Black Father with Engineering skills" the guy is NEVER mellow. Not that Dr. Jack is much better with his constant "I'm the hero, I have to save everyone and can't rest!" attitude. Seriously, I'm not sure when the last time is that I called characters in a show overly emotional idiots so often. Though maybe thats because my personality tends towards stoicism.

2. While realistic I suppose, I found some of the mundane personal problems kind of tedious. Not all, but just the fact that EVERYONE has them and they constantly come up, so some of them stick out as annoying.

3. Too many things are suspect. You get to the point where if ANYTHING happens you start guessing at its meaning and generally one of your ideas (sometimes your only) is right. I guess towards the end of the season, I got tired of being able to predict when something was going to go wrong. I'd share my insights, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it but is going to... Even if they will probably be able to guess what's going to happen.

Hmmm, those are the big ones. I guess basically I'd say I like Battlestar Galactica a good deal more. For instance, I'm planning on watching the rest of Lost, but I'd never buy it, whereas I plan on eventually buying all of BSG.

So now that I'm done with the first season I guess I'll be trying to borrow the second, in the meantime though I plan to get some missed game playing done.

Oh, something fun I discovered tonight at B&N, they have Neon Genesis Evangelion soundtracks on the little listner thingies (aka RedDot System to those in the know). There's something very interesting about standing in the empty music department listening to 30 second clips of "Cruel Angel's Thesis" and other tacks from the show. Sadly not many other series share its privelaged status.