5x13 Some Like It Hoth: Ginger Ale Talk

Pierre Chang is Miles’ father

SUSAN: Shall we discuss? Pierre Chang - he appears to be a happy daddy so why would he encourage Miles and his mother to leave unless maybe he KNEW something was coming. And how does she know he died? Did she leave after his death? Does he die before the purge?
RACHEL: Agreed, the way he was acting in the flashback didn’t match the story Miles’ mom told him. If we’re to believe her story or some part of her story, she was saying that he made them leave. So she might’ve left before his death and since she & Miles are both alive, they must’ve left before the purge happened.
SUSAN: So does that mean word of the purge gets back to the mainland and does Pierre know it’s coming? Is he trying to save Miles from the fate Walt might have had, had he stayed with the Others?
RACHEL: That’s a possibility. Or maybe she just said that to get Miles to stop asking questions. As for Pierre knowing that the Purge is coming, I’m not sure.. he definitely seems to know a lot about the island. More than most of the Dharma Initiative. I also noticed that they all seem to have separate projects going on. Or at least he does. Because he scoffed at the station [Hydra?] doing polar bear experiments. Like his work is way more important.
SUSAN: Well presumably he’s the head right. I mean, he makes all the videos so he would know which projects are meaningful.
RACHEL: That’s true. What do you think happened to him?
SUSAN: I think it has something to do with the radiation and I think that’s why his mother appeared to be on chemo. Maybe he gets time sickness. I think the island emits a strong radiation from whatever the hatch is covering and radiation exposure is known to cause cell mutation. Hence the cancer.
RACHEL: I think that makes the most sense. Maybe that’s part of the reason why Desmond is special. Instead of getting sick from the radiation, he became “special”.

Miles’ ability
RACHEL: I was thinking maybe that’s why Miles has his ability. Due to the radiation from the hatch or whatever energy is on the island that Chang is trying to harness somehow.
SUSAN: Yes agreed. Well it stands to reason if Pierre is affected by the radiation, he has mutant sperm.
RACHEL: Exactly. So.. let me see if I can phrase this correctly. Because of Pierre’s exposure to the radiation, Miles would’ve been affected regardless. Do you think Miles got his ability by chance? Or that maybe the island gave that ability to him. Like of all the things that could’ve happened to Miles because of radiation.. he gets the ability to talk to dead people.
SUSAN: If that’s the case, why does the island need him to be able to talk to dead people?
RACHEL: Right.. unless the island has more plans for him that will be revealed later?
SUSAN: Maybe. Wait - this means Miles is older than Ethan right?
RACHEL: Yes? Because Ethan was just born and baby Miles was 3 months old.
SUSAN: So, does Ethan have powers?
RACHEL: It would probably depend if Horace was exposed to the radiation. And if so, how much.

“What lies in the shadow of the statue?”
RACHEL: Want to move on to Ilana and Bram (the guy who talked to Miles in the van & is currently on the island with the Ajira Losties)?
SUSAN: Yes. So they’re obviously in the same “gang”.
RACHEL: Right. And I think what was implied in last night’s episode, is that there may be a third side or team to this “war” because they clearly weren’t with Widmore. And when Ben saw them, he didn’t show any signs of recognition.
SUSAN: Maybe Eloise gets her own side.
RACHEL: I didn’t think of that! That’s a good point. I was also thinking, what if Pierre Chang is still alive somewhere. Maybe they’re on his side.
SUSAN: Whoa - that would be a really good twist.
RACHEL: I think so too! I read a couple other theories: Alvar Hanso (the person who financially backed the Dharma Initiative) and the dueling analysis suggested a “kind of sect of spiritual guardians of the island’s mysteries.” I kinda hope it’s Pierre though.
SUSAN: Me too. That would be better because, if we’re sticking with Star Wars lore as more ancient history that Lost follows (and I hope we are). Miles was established as Luke last night, which would make Pierre Darth Vadar and therefore a definitive bad guy.
RACHEL: But Darth Vadar redeems himself at the last minute right?
SUSAN: Immediately before his death, after destroying the evil power that had controlled him (Jacob?).
RACHEL: Right! So maybe if Pierre is still alive, that’s what he’s trying to do (before he dies). Destroy the evil power which could be Jacob or maybe even the island itself.
SUSAN: And maybe he needed his wife and son removed from the island because he knew Jacob/island would attack them.
RACHEL: Exactly, I think he made them leave to protect them - not because he didn’t care.
SUSAN: Definitely agreed.

The circle of trust between Chang, Horace, and Radzinsky
RACHEL: Which sorta kinda leads us to our next topic. What exactly is Pierre doing? And seemingly with Radzinksky’s and Horace’s help. They’re building on hostile property, hiding dead bodies. Wasn’t it strange that they delivered bodies to one another instead of just burying it?
SUSAN: I think it had to go to Pierre for research. My assumption was, the guy was digging a hole and then was dead. But no one knew why and just saw the wound in his head. It does appear this happens a lot because Horace said Sawyer “usually” does it.
RACHEL: I know - makes you think Sawyer also knows more than he’s letting on. Do you think that they’re working on something that’s outside the scope of whatever the Dharma Initiative’s plans are? Or that it’s just really top secret? But if it’s the latter, why and why them 3 (plus Sawyer and now Miles/Hurley).
SUSAN: I think Dharma is a cover. I think whatever they’re working on is the real reason they’re there.
RACHEL: ooo, I like that idea! But what’s the real reason? To use the island’s energy for other purposes?
SUSAN: Yes… um, death ray?
RACHEL: Heh, death ray?
SUSAN: lol, just throwing it out there.

Faraday!
RACHEL: Do you want to talk about Faraday?
SUSAN: Yes because I love him. Now I can tell you when I was reading the wiki descriptions, I saw next [next] week’s episode is all Faraday hence my bursting excitement that I couldn’t share.
RACHEL: Finally another episode Faraday-centric episode! He’s been gone for too long. So, it seems that Faraday has been in Ann Arbor at the Dharma headquarters this whole time as one of their scientists?
SUSAN: I guess so or like my earlier theory, he was back at Cambridge. Miles seemed genuinely surprised to see him. Like, he wouldn’t have thought he’d be in a group of scientists from Ann Arbor.
RACHEL: True. I think it could be a combination of both. Because I got the impression that he’s been with them for at least some period of time. Miles did look surprised but it seems like none of them knew his whereabouts. Plus picking them up at night seemed like another top secret thing, which could be why Chang needed Miles. Because Miles has already been let into their circle.
SUSAN: Good point - that fits with the project being their motivation thing. So Ann Arbor is really looking at data or some such from the island.
RACHEL: Right, it seems that way. But there also seems to be some sort of authority there too? Because remember when they had that meeting to talk about Sayid? When Horace showed some hesitation to kill Sayid, Radzinsky threatened to call Ann Arbor.
SUSAN: So, Dharma is a big company with a division for the front and a division for the real deal. That all report to the same central area. And the town is maintained for the families of the scientists.
RACHEL: Plus all the women go there to give birth.
SUSAN: So.. Miles presumably was born off island. Hmm, is that what makes Ethan special? I hadn’t considered this before but, say they [the scientists] were experimenting so the babies born in Ann Arbor end up.. different. But Ethan was born on island, which makes him more natural and acceptable to the Hostiles?
RACHEL: Oh! So that’s why Miles is “special” and Ethan seems normal in the sense that he doesn’t have any extra “gifts”.
SUSAN: We really only have Charlotte as a comparison but she was supposed to be older.
RACHEL: And maybe Daniel. I just noticed a pattern. A lot of the people recruited by Naomi/Widmore were born on the island. Miles, Charlotte. We haven’t heard about Daniel yet but if his parents are Eloise & Widmore, there’s a good chance he was born there too.

Closing thoughts
RACHEL: Anything else to discuss? Random but those black swan jump suits [seen on Radzinksky and Faraday] kinda have an evil vibe to them.
SUSAN: They do. Also, are you getting chills about Juliet like I am? Because, when she and Kate had to act all clueless in front of Roger, she pulled it off flawlessly. And then when Sawyer hits whats-his-name [Phil] and asks her to get rope, she doesn’t so much as bat an eyelash.
RACHEL: I know! I noticed that as well. Maybe it’s all those years of being with the Others. And I totally got chills too when Hurley was watching the numbers being put onto the hatch door.
SUSAN: Yes fantastic scene.

Pictures courtesy of: Lost-Media.com