Comments on: Thursday LOST Blogging: The Variable

By: frau sally benz

frau sally benz — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:58:38 +0000

A week later, I am here to say that I, for one, hope Daniel is dead. IMO, he has served his purpose in the show, to illustrate that you can’t change the past. He thought that he was changing it by going back, but it was his mother’s plan all along because she knew she was supposed to shoot him. I suppose he could still be alive though, since the point was for him to be shot, not necessarily die. But yeah, he’s served his purpose and I’m ready to see him go.

I’m curious as to why people assume Charlotte would’ve remembered the gun battle. As a child, wouldn’t it make more sense for you to remember things that happen to you personally as opposed to things that happen around you?

I understand what Rachel S says about time travel, but I still think the way time travel has been set up in Lost, they simply can’t create a reality where they never crashed on the island. As I said above, I think that’s the reason Daniel was shot in this episode.

And I like this format too. Less recap, more question/discussion.

By: LC

LC — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:37:33 +0000

OK, maybe I’m being dense because I am only a casual fan of the show, but does the timeline track on Daniel’s journal?

Maybe Eloise knows what is going to happen because she finds Daniel’s journal on his dead body.

This knowledge of the future is what Widmore uses to become rich, but this betrays the island somehow. Eloise thinks the timeline must be protected, but Charles wants to take advantage of things, so they split up.

We have now reached the end of what was in the Journal, and she knows no more.

So… complete lunacy that has already been contradicted in the show or does that make any sense at all?

By: Natalie

Natalie — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:54:10 +0000

I’m assuming that Eloise was able to take Desmond on the terrifying journey of fate at the ring shop not because she travels through time, but because of the information in Daniel’s journal, which is presumably on him when he dies.

So… how comprehensive was that? Did Eloise dictate his journal entries to him?

By: Kim

Kim — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:25:55 +0000

Foobar, your point leads to exactly one I thought of yesterday (when I was far away from a computer!)

So it occurred to me that clearly Faraday did change something because 1. Charlotte didn’t remember a gun battle. 2. Wasn’t there an episode earlier (I don’t remember if it was this season or not) in which we saw a video of Faraday and Dr. Chang arguing? If Faraday just died, and if Chang didn’t know him when he tried to out Miles…then maybe that video never gets made…meaning that something did change.

Maybe Eloise knew that in order for the right change to me made, Faraday had to go back (and probably die)…maybe that’s why she let it happen, even encouraged it…even though it meant killing her own son??

By: Foobar

Foobar — Sat, 02 May 2009 10:47:13 +0000

Surely Charlotte would have remembered the massive gun battle, rather than talking to a weird guy with a beard?

By: Cara

Cara — Sat, 02 May 2009 01:12:19 +0000

Yeah, I think they did say that parallel universes weren’t going to happen. Alternate time lines (which is different, right?) are a bit trickier, though they have given us a couple of sign posts that nothing has actually changed in the present. Remember Ben’s house when Sun and Frank went? It was left as is, including Hurley and Sawyer’s game of Risk. Thus indicating that nothing (or extremely little) had been changed.

By: jennifer

jennifer — Sat, 02 May 2009 00:56:08 +0000

there is a great radio lab that explains string theory (rachel’s theory of lost multiverses) that may be helpful for those of you who are boggling. although, i think at one point the producers said that parallel universes were not the explanation, but i may have imagined that because i would find that kind of annoying (a little too similar to the end of newhart, ya’know?)

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:33:22 +0000

OK. I have nothing hugely of consequence to contribute to the discussion– most of my thoughts/questions/answer on this episode have already been said by someone else on this thread— BUT, one thing that is bugging the hell out of me is this: WHY does Daniel not have an accent? Young Daniel playing the piano did, and we now know he was raised by Eloise, who has an accent. And, he attended Oxford. As a result of the Eloise=Mom factor, and the accent when young factor and the Oxford factor, I’m assuming he was raised in the UK? So he should have an accent.

Is it something the writers are just choosing to ignore because they found the actor long before they actually had his future in the plot figured out?

By: Cara

Cara — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:08:03 +0000

Well, clarification: they can’t change anything of huge consequence. Or, like with Desmond trying to save Charlie’s life, they might change how something happens, but they can’t change the fact that it’s going to happen.

By: Cara

Cara — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:06:45 +0000

Thanks Reagan. I think I like the shorter recap, too. Unless I get opposing votes, I’m probably going to stick with it.

Also, my husband spent about an hour tonight trying to explain to me the theory that Rachel put forth. I . . . still don’t think I quite get it. Hehe. :) My dad is into physics though and always helped me with my physics class in high school by finding a way to get these concepts into my head, so I’m going to see if he knows anything about this and maybe he can do a better job? Who knows.

I’m still fairly convinced regardless that they can’t change anything, though.