Lost: The world of misdirects and clues!

What makes Lost great viewing the first time you see the show is the way that it misdirects the audience to believing something that they are hearing and seeing and then it pulls the rug away from under your feet by showing you that what you thought was wrong.

One of the best sequences was the keeping of Henry Gale as prisoner in the hatch. Never has been there been a more convincing portrayal of a man from Minnesota than that one. He seemed genuine, he drew a map to where his balloon was and after it looked like there was not going to be a balloon, then, big surprise, all of a sudden there was the big Smiley air balloon in a tree just as Henry Gale had said.

We expected at that point that Ana-Lucia, Sayid and Charlie would come back to the Hatch knowing that they were keeping a unfortunate but honest guy as a prisoner.

Then all of a sudden we learn that what we saw was not the whole picture and that this Henry Gale was not genuine and that he was definitely not who he claimed to be.

It is this surpise twists that are a key part of the show.

The Nikki and Paulo death episode is another example of a classic misdirect, the episodes begins with their deaths but it is not until the end that we learn that they were not really dead!

We see this with Juliette, she is shown leaving a tape for Ben while she was in the Losties camp. She seemed to be a spy in their camp as well as a double agent. Then later we are told that Jack knew what she was doing and all these bad acts of Juliette were actually good acts to help protect the Losties.

Mikhail, we saw him killed at the sonic fence, but to our surprise he was not dead, then we saw him being harpooned, and we thought good now he is dead, but shock he was alive enough to swim to the window and blow up himself and Charlie.

There are many stories, the first Locke flashback did not show the wheelchair until veru late in the episode, so that was a big shock.

The show is full of misdirects and tricks. This is why I believe that that Kate is the real leader that the "Others" have been waiting for. It is the "him" that even the Dharma workers like Kelvin were expecting. All the common elements are there Kate, Ben and Locke have all been implicit in their father's death.

Ben and Locke were not raised by their biological mothers, Kate was not raised by her biological father.

JJ Abrams had originally planned on the character Of kate becoming the leader of the Losties. A role that Jack was given. I wonder if this information is again a misdirect to assume that Kate as leader is not an option. I think that Kate will ultimately become the key player in the series. Her biological father, whose story we have heard little about, probably has some ties to the Dharma Initiative and to Christian Shepherd.

I think that Jacob knows that Kate is his hope, and it is by using the terms him that throws us off the track. It might also be a way of keeping Kate safe. I think that not being on Jacob's list may be a good thing, just as not being on Ben's list is a really really good thing.

This is my theory on Kate and I thought that I should post it as a theory, just in case in two season times we are shown it to be the case. Then I can say I saw that coming years ago.

Stitch

StitchExp626 wrote:
This is my theory on Kate and I thought that I should post it as a theory, just in case in two season times we are shown it to be the case. Then I can say I saw that coming years ago.

Stitch

Yes. I think you could be so right about Kate. When you factor in, as you did, that Jack (originally) was not to be a main player in the show it makes so much sense. I had written somethng similar to this a while back and you have very clearly explained it all very well. In my mind it was only a small filament, floating around with many others, trying to weave some sense into it all and you've gone and created a nice tapestry already!

I will be one of the first ones saying "Stitch was right!"

Cosmic you are my hero, but maybe I better post a theory later on that says Kate is not a leader ... that way I will be sure to be right!

I'm not sold. I mean, even assuming Kate is unaware of this leadership mantle waiting for her (I presume that's where you're coming from) I think between Locke and Jack (who I think will be the leader) there's no room for Kate. The best she can hope for is being pivotal to the Jack-Sawyer-Kate love triangle - and what exactly her role in Aaron's upbringing will entail.

So I guess that puts me at the front of the queue for the firing squad waiting to shoot me down and say, "You were wrong, Comet!"

Hey AC there has to a first time for everything. Besides I wouldn't shoot you ... that wouldn't be a friendly thing to do.

I will just take out a multinational advertising campaign with the banner AC No See Stitchy Theory so AC 0 and Stitchy 1. Gosh that is catchy ... Not!

I think you could be on to something, and she does have all the necessary ingredients - tracking skills, determination, good instincts, a penchant for stirring speeches. I am reminded of Bens comment to Jack, after Kate took the phone off him and went looking for Naomi..."atleast someone around here knows what they are doing"

I still want to know what happened to her inbetween her cosy breakfast on the beach with Ben, and being escorted back to the cages with bloody wrists. Perhaps there is still a lot about Kate we are yet to see, bringing us to a conclusion that is different to how we see her now.

I like it Stitch. She needs to be something more than Sawyer/ Jack arm candy.

SunburnedPenguin wrote:I still want to know what happened to her inbetween her cosy breakfast on the beach with Ben, and being escorted back to the cages with bloody wrists. Perhaps there is still a lot about Kate we are yet to see, bringing us to a conclusion that is different to how we see her now.

Me too.

Stitch, you are absolutely correct about the misdirects and twists we are thrown by the writers.

From the beginning, I felt Aaron somehow played a role with 'the island', and had wondered if Claire and Jack may be 'Adam and Eve'. You can't deny the Shepherd family seems to play a keen role in the storyline. Now that Kate is raising Aaron however, that may be the twist!

I still think there is so much more we need to know before I can make a decision on Kate being the 'chosen one', so to speak. I think if the writers are looking for a twist, that would be a perfect one!

Good thoughts!

Kate's bloody wrists I can answer for you.

It was a deleted scene. Basically she was given a bit of time alone - in the locker room, possible. And she struggled and struggled to tears trying to pull the handcuffs off. To no avail. And that explains her tearful demeanour and sore wrists when she was taken back to her cage.

Ah the mystery is solved! Thanks AC

Thanks AC for that insight. I hope that you are right as it was ambiguous to the viewer what was actually shown.

I don't see it Stich, but I have been wrong every time, so perhaps I am not a solid opinion. I like the concept, I just can't buy it as Kate's show (which it would be). I love your angle..could anyone else fill the part?

AC, you are right about that scene being a deleted scene, however, I read somewhere (and now I can't find it) that one of the writers said it was taken out for a reason, a big reason. He ended the answer to the question by saying that the deleted scene is by no means canon to the show. Believe me, when I saw this I was rather happy about it because I always wanted there to be more to that scene. Kate's pure emotion when she is put in her cage is of utmost defeat and sadness. I think her subtle acting in that scene is absolutely her best acting thus far on the show.


....and yes, that means that I do have a plan for it somewhere in my version of S5... haha, I had to defend the scene because I need it to further my work.

I like your theory and love the way you wrote it Stitch. You've convinced me.