“Lost” Dharma — *Potential Spoilers*
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Simplified Dharma Wheel
I want to post about “Lost” and something that needs to be pointed out, but I realize it will contain spoilers for anyone not up-to-date on the series, therefore, don’t click to continue reading unless you don’t mind a brief analysis of the current situation on the show.
Right. So has anyone else noticed that the wheel Locke turns looks exactly like the Dharma Wheel (Dharmachakra)? That and it’s the center of the Dharma initiative. Whose purpose, therefore, is to initiate the Dharma. It’s time to turn the Wheel again, to awaken the Dharma in others. The Dharma Wheel, the Dharmachakra, represents the teachings of Buddha, the turning of the wheel represents the unfolding or stages of revelation of those teachings, or even just the spread of those teachings to new areas. For those areas, the Wheel has turned and the teachings have been revealed there. Locke turning the wheel means Locke is giving the teaching. Locke has been reborn on the island twice now — once figuratively and once literally.
First, Ben turns the Wheel. When Ben gets to the Wheel, it appears to be stuck. The impression is given that the Wheel is jammed or broken and needs to be set in motion again. This could easily be symbolic of having lost “the way”. Ben turns the Wheel in an effort to move the island. Those that were on the island when Ben turned the Wheel become unstuck in time, having no place in reality. Ben turning the Wheel represented Ben’s teachings, Ben’s way. As it turns out, Ben was not supposed to turn the Wheel. Now those present at the turning are unstuck in time, having no place in any reality. Locke had to turn the Wheel. Locke’s way was in accordance with the teachings, and when he turns the Wheel, those present return to reality. They’re no longer unstuck.
Ben Turning the Dharma Wheel
Here’s the curious part. Let’s try to track the chronology of events. First, the Oceanic 6 leave. Then Ben moves the island. The survivors still on the island become unstuck in time. Three years pass in the outside world. As the survivors are skipping through time, it may simply seem like moments for them, depending on “where” they land in time. Ben seems to be trying to protect everyone on the island from agents of Charles Whitmore and enlists Sayad’s assistance. Sayad stops helping Ben at some point and retires to the Dominican Republic. Locke finds the Wheel and turns it. For the islanders, it seems like only days have passed. Now, Locke is in the outside world and it seems that three years have passed there. When Locke turns the Wheel, the time shifts stop and they’re in the 1970′s. The Dharma Initiative is still in place and they seem to have a truce with the outsiders/”Others”.
Here’s where it gets interesting. For Locke, the trip is instantaneous, although apparently 3 years have passed in the outside world. Likewise, since Locke left, three years have passed on the island. Sounds like relativistic time dilation, but that would mean Locke traveled a distance of nearly 3 light years. An Einstein-Rosen Bridge? Hm. Whatever the case, three years have passed for everyone except Locke. Locke jumped from the island to three years in the future in the outside world. During this whole time, however, the survivors on the island have stopped skipping through time. Yet, the Oceanic 6 are informed they need to get back to the island to save the survivors still there. Those survivors are no longer jumping through time, yet the motivation for the Oceanic 6 to go back to the island was that the survivors still on the island needed to be saved. Therefore, the point of all this — it’s not the jumping through time that’s the problem from which they need to be saved. That was resolved when Locke left. Locke, however, wouldn’t have known this.
Summing up, where does that leave us? The Oceanic 6 are back. Three years have passed for them. Three years have passed for the survivors on the island. Not so for Locke. The island is now situated in the late 1970′s. The presumed threat the survivors needed to be saved from was being unstuck in time. However, that was resolved three years before the return of the Oceanic 6 to the island. What, then, is the threat that is facing the Oceanic 6?
Or, was this just a mistake of the writers not being able to follow their own storyline.
I suspect there is indeed another threat to the island. Maybe, though I really hope not, something involving 1970′s Charles Whitmore, who may still be on the island in the 1970′s. Maybe the smoke monster machine whatever hasn’t come into play yet in the 1970′s and that’s the challenge they’ll face. Ben hasn’t taken over at this point in the island’s history because his initiation rite was to kill off the members of the Dharma Initiative, including his own father. As the Dharma Initiative is lounging about the place, it’s safe to assume they have not yet met their demise at the hands of Ben yet.
Well, I’ve finished my rant for the time being. If they’ve been doing just fine all this time, these three years with the Dharma Initiative, without the return of the Oceanic 6, then there really was no need to bring them all back. In which case, the entire build-up of this season so far will have been all for naught. So I’m curious as to actual reason they needed to be brought back.
We’ll see what happens. I may be way off base here, that’s entirely possible, but I think my reasoning is sound.
