Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Others - a Theory (spoilers welcome)

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    The Others - a Theory (spoilers welcome)

    Here is my wide-ranging (and that means long-winded, sorry guys. I'll give you a cookiee if you make it to the end ) theory on the Others :

    The Others, as a whole, aren't part of the DHARMA Initiative. However, what they have done is taken over DHARMA's facilities on the island for their own purposes (as yet unknown, likely using the island's special properties) and even possibly converting some of their personnel without the DHARMA Initiative's knowledge.

    As far as the Hanso Foundation (and associated companies, possibly including Widmore Industries) in the outside world is concerned, its island facilities are under attack by 'hostiles', as the Others have portrayed themselves : primitive, unsophisticated but deadly. Certainly, far from a corporate-backed ruthless and sophisticated organisation, which the Others likely are (it's possible at this time that Thomas Mittelwark, who is slowly increasing his influence within Hanso Foundation is one of Them, but as the Lost Experience is set a good two years after the crash, its hard to tell whether he has taken Alvar Hanso hostage and seized power yet at this stage).

    It's important for the Others to maintain the illusion that DHARMA still controls the island, hence Mikhail (who may in fact be a converted DHARMA operative) wears a DHARMA uniform and continues to order food drops for the Swan station, which is manned by genuine DHARMA technicians, Calvin and Radsinksy. It's possible that Mikhail orders all the Others supplies through DHARMA, hence the importance of the Hanso Foundation not discovering the full extent to which their island has been compromised.

    It is this imperative that affects the Others and all their dealings both on and off the island. The need to keep their presence (and the nature of that presence) a secret means they have limited submarine travel and most of their people must thus remain on the island indefinitely. This problem presents a recruitment issue and a control issue for those who are on the island but don't particularly like the idea of remaining indefinitely (e.g. Juliet). With limited resources, the senior Others have to play nice or risk a rebellion (hence always pretending to be the 'good guys' and Ben's obsession with his 'honest' image) but also be firm in keeping them there.

    The Others didn't crash the plane, that was a result of a series of flukes ; flukes that were almost certainly influenced by the Island. By this stage, it's fairly clear that the Island is a seperate intelligence capable of communicating with humans. Ben thought there "might actually be" survivors, he wasn't counting on there been a large number of survivors (evidence that the Island, or the powered-up Electro-Magnet, healed many of them). Even though they are highly unlikely to escape, there is the possibility that one day someone will get off the island and expose their operation (any story they told would send off alarm bells in Hanso's ears). Thus, the Others keep their dealings with the Losties limited and try to hide their real nature. The senior Others can't simply kill them all (that would be too ruthless a gesture to keep up their nice facade) and even take it as an opportunity to recruit some of them.

    In recruiting, the criteria are for 'good people' ; this is likely to help bolster the 'good guy' image but also would keep out violent or unstable newbies who could potentially rebel. Ideally, candidates would want to remain on the island and be malleable (read : controllable) in personality. For this reason, children are the perfect recruits, the younger the better. To this end, Ethan and Goodwin were sent in to form Lists, unaware of the size of the groups they'd be dealing with.

    The first attack on the Tailies appeared strategic in removing the best able-bodied defenders. It's possible, due to their initial research, that the Others had already determined that these men were unworthy (the only one targeted who we know, Eko, had a blood-soaked past) and it's highly likely the three taken at this time were killed. The second took nine people on Goodwin's List, and Ana Lucia's killing of an Other was likely what delayed the capture of Cindy til the third attack. Also note that Goodwin considered Nathan to be "not a good person" and killed him when it suited his purposes. He wanted Ana Lucia to come, but his fellow Others vetoed it (she has a murder in her past).

    Ethan, on the other hand, didn't complete a List. His task was complicated by Claire's pregnancy, an experiment which took priority over recruitment. Though he likely chalked up his discovery to Claire remembering the injections he administered, it's important to note that Claire had a dream in which she saw the cot where the Others wanted to put Aaron ; the Island (appearing as Locke) warned her and ruined Ethan's plan, exposing him. With the experiment unfinished, he grabbed Claire and Charlie, using the latter as a distraction for his pursuers. Either Charlie's drug addiction was enough to make him "bad", or Claire took absolute first priority over candidate lives. Or Charlie's done something we don't know about.

    Continued on the next post, congratulations on making it this far !

    #2
    Claire was kept at the Staff in a heavily drugged and disoriented state, whilst still receiving her medication. We don't know if this is standard procedure to ease captured recruits into the idea of been Others. The drugs took out a fair slice of her memory, which hasn't been evident in Cindy (albeit we only saw her briefly). It's likely the implant was part of the experiment ; inducing or accelerating the degeneration of the mother, with a live birth the goal at this stage. Claire's eventual survival of a natural birth doubtless took the Others by surprise. In any case, a birth in the wild was never what the Others wanted ; Tom rebuked Ethan telling him was supposed to bring Claire in after making a List.

    Alex's (and later Danielle's) rescue of Claire put Ethan in a tight spot ; he had to retrieve Claire to conclude the experiment but without revealing any more of the Others than already had been. So he attempted it alone, with murder and blackmail as his methods. But the Others didn't count on the Marshall bringing a case of guns on board the flight and Ethan wound up dead. Whether Alex's role in the escape was ever discovered is still unknown.

    Now armed and alert to the threat, the forty-odd survivors were proving a formidable challenge and the Others chose not to risk more lives by attacking them. However, an opportunity arose in the launching of the raft. Ironically, Walt's psychic senses alerted him to the Others' interest in him but his attempts to escape only exposed him on the four-man raft which Tom attacked in the guise of the 'hostiles'.

    Meanwhile, Ben was facing a dilemma of his own. Somehow having fallen out of favour with the Island, he had a deadly tumour on his spine. The solution was simple (by Ben standards) but he couldn't kidnap the people he needed without the List (due to policy of limited contact). So, he conspired with Juliet and Bea Klugh, hatching a plan to put the love triangle he needed in position.

    First, the justified official mission : Walt's unexpected psychic abilities gave a legitimate reason to capture Michael. In this, they used the Swan's video surveillance and communications (posing as Walt) to lure Michael out effectively and most importantly, in secret. They left the option to allow his release (perhaps because Michael had no obvious black marks in his past) by posing as the hostiles, but due to this extended contact they had an official contact with Michael's pursuers, warning off the north side of the island.

    Then, another official mission ; Ben headed off by himself to recruit John Locke (a List worthy candidate who could potentially help him). Unofficially, Ben put his life on the line (which, as he saw, it already was if the mission failed) by letting himself be trapped by Rousseau, who handed him over to the Losties, making it appear his capture by them was genuine. Meanwhile, Bea reacted to the news by making a Deal with Michael to secure Ben's freedom. This Deal prevented the Others from coming into contact with Losties, freed Ben (eliminating the possibility of him revealing info and possibly guaranteed revenge for Goodwin's death), allowed reinforcement of the 'Line'. Plus, Michael's release was a non-issue as he'd only seen the 'hostile' camp. Thus, it was okay'd by the senior Others. However, the seniors didn't know about the list Bea prepared for Michael's eyes only (or didn't know the significance)

    Clearly, part of the Deal with Michael was to kill someone (it's possible they even specified Ana Lucia, or maybe even Charlie or Eko) to ensure a revenge attack. Bea was possibly too zealous in dealing with Michael ; Ben wasn't happy she agreed to give up Walt and a boat. However, his entire authority rests on his honesty, thus he had to honour the deal. Including the part that worked the best for him ; promising not to kill the new captives on the spot. It gave him an excuse to bring Jack, Kate and Sawyer to the Hydra, since as long as they'd fallen into their arms, Jack might as well be coerced into fixing him.

    Things didn't go to plan after that though, ironically enough ultimately due to Calvin Inman. By repairing Desmond's sailboat, he indirectly gave the Losties the ability to sail around the island and potentially discover many of the DHARMA locations. Additionally, Desmond had used Calvin's key to detonate the Swaan anomaly and now mainland communications were down. Thus, another boat would come in handy, so he authorised its retrieval. The operation ended in Colleen getting shot and Jack discovering Ben's problem before Ben had a chance to break him.

    This unleashed a round of Deal-making ; Jack made a Deal to get himself off the island in exchange for the surgery. Then he used the opportunity to threaten Ben's life and Deal Kate and Sawyer an escape. To make it happen, Ben Dealt with Juliet to let her leave the island. In the process, she killed Pickett and got in major trouble with the Others. With Ben having post-surgery complications, Jack made a new Deal to save her life. Unfortunately, to keep all his Deals, Ben would not only give up all his prisoners and interfere with Others justice but he would also give up with of the few remaining vessels. Perhaps acceptable to the junior Others who expect him to keep his word, but not to the Senior Others. So he hatched a new plan.

    When he realised that a rescue party including Locke was heading in the direction of the Flame, he sent Bea to inform Mikhail of a plan. Mikhail was to pose as as DHARMA and to provide certain information to the rescue party. However, Mikhail's cover was blown and Bea was discovered and captured. Not wanting to fall into Sayid's hands and revealing the plan, Bea insisted Mikhail shoot her, giving Sayid the motivation to keep Mikhail alive. Strangely chatty for an Other, he revealed the existence of the sub. Having managed to link Locke (who has a known motive and desire to remain on the island) with a place that was rigged with C4 and given him information on the sub, it was child's play for Ben to convince Locke to blow it up. And, Locke's capture provided Ben for the possibility to get back in touch with the Island.

    Locke's desire to learn gave Ben negotiating room ; he was willing to convince Kate that he was no longer a prisoner, spouted some Others propaganda in her face and left. Jack and Sayid, though couldn't be coopted and had to be released. Using Jack's bond with Juliet and the implant in Claire from so long ago, Ben has managed to achieve the impossible ; place a fresh infiltrator in the Losties camp who can make a new List. He's probably consolidated his position amongst the senior Others to boot, although whatever concessions he to make to keep Locke alive will probably undermine his status once more.

    Whew. Sorry about that, once it starts it just pours out. True to my word, cookiees for all !

    Comment


      #3
      if there's cliff notes available i might read it.

      Comment


        #4
        it seems to me the others are similar to the society in the movie, "the village" that wanted to escape the troubles of normal society and start a simpler life.
        anyone up for some Armageddon?

        Comment


          #5
          For you, Mr Morbo, certainly.

          Others mostly not DHARMA guys, but have stolen their facilities and are scamming food and other supply drops off the real DHARMA. This is their big secret and can't let anyone know. Can't let people like Juliet (who aren't 100 % committed to the cause) off the island, and can't let the main Losties see too much on the off chance they get off the island, tell their stories and the real DHARMA guys figure out what's going on.

          Ben was running his own game behind the back of his superiors, to engineer events (making them seem natural) that he could take advantage of ; e.g. saving his life, consolidating his shaky position with his badass superiors whilst keeping face with his "good guy" inferiors.

          The implant in Claire was the shakiest bit of the theory, not quite sure how it fits with the evidence. My guess was part of the surgery planned for her that never happened.

          Juliet is infiltrating them to create a new List to kidnap new recruits from.

          I also speculated that "good" qualities on the List are for Others need to maintain "good guy" image. Whilst bad qualities (like murder) can be taken from files, the "good" qualities need someone to actually get to know them.

          Comment


            #6
            I think the passengers of the ocean flight have been cloned !!!! ....


            .....so in a way , they are alive ( as the producers said , they were all still alive ) even if the original ones died in the crash ( The new girl did say that the ocean flight was found and everyone on board was dead as they found the bodies ) and it could be why they are all in good health because they have been genetically modified to a perfect anatomy ( Locke walking, Rose's cancer, Jin's infertility ; I think we don't know everything yet ) and the others seem to be interested in conception and reproducton , therefore , Genetics is I think involved in the storyline and cloning would be a way to explain why they are on the Island while the original passengers are all dead , the copies are obviously perfect to a medical point of view . Remember how Ben set up a mission to get to the plane when he saw it falling . I 'm not sure if it was planned or not for that plane in particular to fall but it does not seem like it as Ben and all the others were surprised seeing it fall from the sky . I think it may have just been a coincidence and they started their reasearch of who was on the plane straight afterwards .
            As the others had communication with the outside world , it was easy to get all the documents probably through Juliett!!! then start cloning them and feeding them with all the infos they got from the documents so that they had the same past as the original ones , with the only difference that they are perfectly healthy .!!

            PS : Juliett's sister has also been saved from Cancer as we saw in one episode . I think the real Juliett's sister died and the one we saw on screen is a Copy /Clone in perfect health. The others obvioulsy are responsible fot it . and they saved her because they needed Juliett so much .
            Looks like they are using a really powefull advance technology because what I know from cloning is always a poor replica of the real one , with either mental problems but is never perfect . They found a way to create perfect doubles from the originals , even say better than the originals.

            Also the guy who helped Ben when he was a young boy didn't seem to have got older during all those years , therefore , I think he may also be a clone or as been cloned many times or is immortal .Not sure why Ben got ill on the Island yet . Seems like if he has been cloned , it didn't work for him and may be , it work for some and not for others and his mission is to find out why .Also the pregnant women dying is another problem .Perhaps , this is also one last problem of cloning they have not fixed yet and this is why they need all the survivors to experiment on the clones because they have made them in a way and are responsible for them .

            But Clonig is I think part of the storyline .

            Caty

            Comment


              #7
              I love your theory Yodamate, it's very similar to my own. I figured the "hostiles" are posing as DHARMA, using their tech/resources to their own ends. The food drops and Mikhail makes this plausible. Maybe this is why they are so devoted to the pregnancy research? They obviously age different, but maybe can't breed. (Though Richard did complain that Ben was putting too many resources into that project)

              The way I see it, Most of the "Others", as we know them, are not DHARMA nor hostiles. They are simply post-purge recruits. It's not clear of how much of the circle they are allowed in, but I get the feeling most of them are clueless. The hostiles, as a group, have yet to be seen on screen, just Richard, and maybe a few others scattered in the Others' group. Why Richard has never seen Jacob is beyond me at this point (or what Jacob even is), but his poeple are probably nothing like the "Others". The source of the whispers, probably. The "Others" are obviously not making them.

              Why these "Others" were trying to fool the Losties they were "hostiles" and not DHARMA is an interesting question, given that they knew nothing of either group at the time. Is DHARMA really that important to keep secret?
              Music Profile: 83710 Songs --- 3714 Artists --- 7051 Albums

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Morbo View Post
                if there's cliff notes available i might read it.
                I agree.

                : Green is Good.
                sigpic I NEED MORE POWER!!!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Caty : that's an interesting idea. Of course, if they are clones then they had to be made very quickly, or a whole new flight was made. It seems far more likely to me that there's simply a cover-up in place (not all the bodies and plane parts have been accounted for).

                  Cap : there are cliff notes higher up the page.

                  Recent episodes have turned out interesting stuff ; so the Others were Hostiles that took over DHARMA after all. The other part of my theory (that they are tricking the real Hanso Foundation into thinking they are the real DHARMA has yet to be proved).

                  I no longer think that there are human Others above Ben, but it's highly interesting that Ben (an outsider) is in charge over Richard. So instead of trying to keep people above him happy, Ben's conniving is to make it seem as if he's still the Island's Chosen One (he manipulates people and events to make it seem like the Island has arranged it for him).

                  Interesting contrasts now abound : Ben said to Locke "i don't know how it happened, but somehow you made a connection with this Island", making it seem like an accident. Now we learn that Ben's experience with the Island (appearing as his mother) was just as sudden and random. The Island let him get sick, so he turned to Science to fix himself and makes it look like the Island's work. He's more like Jack then either would care to admit, and both are going to have confront Locke (the true believer in the Island) in the finale ! I'm excited !

                  I now think that in Season 2, Ben had Anthony Cooper captured and brought to the Island and then told the Others he was going to fetch Locke and Ben's 'capture' was also a convenient way to get out of having to bring Locke back at this time. I still think he conspired with Bea Klugh (who showed Michael his List of Jack, Kate and Sawyer) but he made it seem like that List was Klugh's idea, then conveniently was able to banish her to go live with Mikhail out of the way as "punishment" for 'letting' Michael go. Now suddenly with an ace Doctor on his hands, Ben made it seem like the Island had made it so and thus stop the Others wondering whether Ben was really the Chosen One.

                  I wonder whether Ben can still see Jacob at all ; it could've been an act, which is why he's so suprised to learn that Jacob spoke to Locke and demands to know what he said.

                  Someone on another site pointed out that when the Hostiles purged DHARMA, Richard was wearing an expensive gold watch. This might be a prop error or unimportant, or it might mean that DHARMA thought the Hostiles were more primitive than they actually are.

                  Finally, the lies and intrigue continue : Juliet said the Looking Glass was flooded and Ben has accelerated the attack plan. Who is lying to who and who is manipulating events ?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    A thought about Ben... he is the reason women die after giving birth on the island. Ben's mother died when she gave birth to him, he has a special connection to the island, the same happens to all women who conceive on the island. It makes sense, and also explains why Ben has it as a priority - it shows that the island's powers are not all good.

                    Good people and bad people... clearly means those who are more intune with the island, and perhaps those who believe even just a little. We know that it doesn't mean having done bad things, the others kill people all the time, Ben told Locke killing his father was a test, etc etc. The OP is likely right about why there wasn't a list of good people for the Losties, Ethan was occupied with Claire's pregnancy. Also, Walt seemed like the next priority because of his age, he'd be be useful long term. There are a number of people amongst the Losties who have had special experiences and to an extent "believe". Some have had experiences but have all but dismissed them, such as Kate seeing the horse, or Jack seeing his father.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by lunarleviathan View Post
                      A thought about Ben... he is the reason women die after giving birth on the island. Ben's mother died when she gave birth to him, he has a special connection to the island, the same happens to all women who conceive on the island. It makes sense, and also explains why Ben has it as a priority - it shows that the island's powers are not all good.

                      Good people and bad people... clearly means those who are more intune with the island, and perhaps those who believe even just a little. We know that it doesn't mean having done bad things, the others kill people all the time, Ben told Locke killing his father was a test, etc etc. The OP is likely right about why there wasn't a list of good people for the Losties, Ethan was occupied with Claire's pregnancy. Also, Walt seemed like the next priority because of his age, he'd be be useful long term. There are a number of people amongst the Losties who have had special experiences and to an extent "believe". Some have had experiences but have all but dismissed them, such as Kate seeing the horse, or Jack seeing his father.
                      i don't think you're correct with your first thought. here's why.
                      ben wasn't born on the island. yes, his mother died when he was born because he was premature and they were in the middle of the woods - that was just unlucky complications.
                      but when ben's dad brought him to the island, and ben found out he had some special connetion with the place and its people, AND he found out that women there died when they were pregnant, he saw the likeness to his birthing experience and set out to find out why. i think its fated coincidence. remember, fate it is a big part of lost.

                      as for your 2nd point, i think last week in the recap show on ABC "Lost: The Answers", which was hosted by Damon and Carlton, and I'm pretty sure they said flat out that the black smoke was responsible for manifesting the figures the survivors have seen such as Jack's dad, kate's horse, Eko seeing Yemi etc. Each served a different purpose based on what the smoke had gathered from the person.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Spoilers about helicopter girl in the season finale tonight. It's kind of a big spoiler so no *****ing if you read it before tonight.

                        Spoiler:
                        The helicopter girl is lying. She is a badgirl. She is working for someone but it is not Desmond's ex. She might be an Other. She could be a new group that we don't know of.


                        I don't think they are clones, I think they came back from death or close to death.

                        And Juliet didn't ly, she said Ben told her the thing was flooded.

                        And after tonight's finale I think everything we knew will be thrown out the window and you will have to rewrite this whole thing. lol
                        Last edited by Oreo; 23 May 2007, 06:33 AM.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          More than likely the others got someone to fake the images of the sub that went down to look at the plane at the bottom of the sea {their proberly wasnt even a plane down their tbh}

                          why?


                          so noone would come looking for them

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Morbo View Post
                            i don't think you're correct with your first thought. here's why.
                            ben wasn't born on the island. yes, his mother died when he was born because he was premature and they were in the middle of the woods - that was just unlucky complications.
                            but when ben's dad brought him to the island, and ben found out he had some special connetion with the place and its people, AND he found out that women there died when they were pregnant, he saw the likeness to his birthing experience and set out to find out why. i think its fated coincidence. remember, fate it is a big part of lost.

                            as for your 2nd point, i think last week in the recap show on ABC "Lost: The Answers", which was hosted by Damon and Carlton, and I'm pretty sure they said flat out that the black smoke was responsible for manifesting the figures the survivors have seen such as Jack's dad, kate's horse, Eko seeing Yemi etc. Each served a different purpose based on what the smoke had gathered from the person.
                            Fair points.

                            My theory about Ben is based pretty much on the box metaphor, that the island can give you what you want. This leads me to believe that what is in a persons soul/psyche/call it what you will can be manifsted by the island. It seems logical to assume that the Island also does bad things based on what is inside of the inhabitants, else everything would be happy. It seems too much of a coincidence that Ben's own birthing is also one of the "features" of the island.

                            I also see the Black Smoke as one in the same as the Island. A single thing responsible for everything. I thought they said that the Black Smoke was the mechanism that the island used to look at / into people (hence the photograph type effect)? If so, it's one in the same surely?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by lunarleviathan View Post
                              Fair points.

                              My theory about Ben is based pretty much on the box metaphor, that the island can give you what you want. This leads me to believe that what is in a persons soul/psyche/call it what you will can be manifsted by the island. It seems logical to assume that the Island also does bad things based on what is inside of the inhabitants, else everything would be happy. It seems too much of a coincidence that Ben's own birthing is also one of the "features" of the island.

                              I also see the Black Smoke as one in the same as the Island. A single thing responsible for everything. I thought they said that the Black Smoke was the mechanism that the island used to look at / into people (hence the photograph type effect)? If so, it's one in the same surely?
                              I think you're reading too far into the box.
                              Remember, Ben is all about manipulation. Ben knows that Locke thinks this island is magical - and maybe in some ways it is - remember special magnetic fields can cure illnesses, etc. However, Ben is using Locke's obsession to his advantage. I believe the "box" was just something that Ben said to Locke to further manipulate him. Because remember Locke's dad said that someone rear-ended his car, and the medic smiled at him in that sly "haha i know something you don't know and you're screwed" way before he passed out. The Others, and whoever works with them on the mainland clearly got Cooper because after Ben read John's file, and most likely after Ben and John's converations in the Swan hatch during season 2, Ben knew that Locke could be easily manipulated when it came to believing things about the island.

                              As for the black smoke, I'm fairly sure I heard - either on the show or read it - that the black smoke was in fact a Dharma experiment gone wrong.

                              I still think it's a nanoswarm, even though its been denied. It really is the only thing that makes sense. And if its self-aware, and somehow guiding itself through its own moral programming, it can ultimately decide someone's fate it comes in contact with.

                              I'm going to go eat my porkchops now.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X