Orientation: A Beginning.

Created by: Jeffrey Lieber, J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof

Written by: Writer: Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Craig Wright

Directed by: Jack Bender

Air date: Wednesday, October 5, 2005

A Soulful Spike Society Review by Lola

www.soulfulspike.com

Orientation brings us two main current island stories and a flashback of Locke’s past. It was the first episode to show what was happening with our original group of survivors as well as those who left. The first episode introducing the people we’ll come to know as the Tailies (albeit only from the perspective of the captive Jin, Michael and Sawyer). And the first episode to apparently bring us some information about the bunker and its creators. But I’m writing this review in January, and I can’t ignore the episodes we seen since then – what we’ve learned about Ana Lucia and Mr. Eko; the additional scenes from the Dharma film; Michael’s apparent conversation with Walt on the Computer That Is Not To Be Used; and so on. So rather thant try to re-create a review as if we were all seeing this for the first time, instead I give you: Orientation: a look back from the middle of the season.

Information Overload

In one fell swoop, with the introduction of the Dharma film and Desmond’s sketchy explanations, we appear to have been given much more information about the mysteries of the island. But first appearances can be deceiving and we should take a hint from the labeling of the film – “Orientation”, not “What’s Really Going On”. The film was apparently made for a specific purpose. To provide a very brief background of the group that furnished the bunker and a simple set of instructions for two people to “fulfill the responsibilities associated with this station”.

What does the film tell us? What doesn’t it tell us? What has been lost?

From the title sequence, we learn that this is film 3 of 5 (or 6 – I couldn’t quite tell) and identifies station 3 as the swan. The narrator, Dr. Candle, tells us this is the orientation film for station 3 of the Dharma Initiative. So, we can infer that there are 4 or 5 other films, presumably for 4 or 5 other stations on the island, but we get no direct information about this. (Even though I think it actually looks more like 5, I like the symmetry of 6. This would mean there was a station for each number of the code. And, excitingly, it could mean a different bunch of plane survivors at each one. 42 original fronties; 23 original tailies – see where I’m going with this? We could have four more groups of survivors with 16, 15, 8 and 4 more people in their original configuration.)
We are told that the Dharma Initiative was created in 1970 by Gerald and Karen Degroot, doctoral candidates at the University of Michigan and that they were following the teachings of people such as B.F. Skinner and . . . well, we don’t know who else because this is where we have our first loss of film. The film itself is dated 1980. So, we know that the Dharma Initiative can’t be the originators of the island wackiness and we can infer that behavioral conditioning is part of the purpose of the bunker. Many have suggested that the hatch could very well be a variation on a Skinner box, with the “partners” taking the place of the rat mindlessly pushing a button to get food pellets. I think this is a very likely possibility. But there's another unanswered question: who were the other “visionaries” the Dharma Initiative creators were following? Also – doctoral candidates? Were the stations originally conceived merely as a doctoral thesis? Does the name Degroot have significance – a reference to Morris DeGroot who did important work in statistics and decision theory?
We learn that a reclusive Danish industrialist and munitions magnate named Alvar Hanso provided the money to make “their dream of a multipurpose . . . social science research facility a reality”. Was it just the Degroot’s dream? There is a loss of film just before the information about Mr. Hanso, so we really don’t know how many others may have been involved or who they might have been. And why would this background information be needed by the people presumably manning the bunker? If they were ignorant of the Dharma Initiative, then why are they placed there for “the next 540 days” to punch a code into a computer? If they are just basic drones, there to do nothing but keep things going while the project is repaired, why tell them any of this?
We learn that someone (the first part is cut off – presumabley the Degroots, but others may be involved) “imagined a large-scale communal research compound, where scientists and free-thinkers from around the world could pursue research in meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology, electromagnetism and utopian social . . . “. At this point, the film is cut again. So, we can infer that the stations were to be a part of this research compound – perhaps the entire island was to be the research facility. But, based on the fact that we once again have another section of missing film, were these the only subjects of interest? And obviously the instructions being given to the “partners” of this station, (to type a simple code every 108 minutes into a computer terminal), does not seem to fit the description of communal research by free-thinkers. Later in the film, we are told that “Station 3 was originally constructed as a laboratory where scientists could work to understand the unique electromagnetic fluctuations emanating from this sector of the island”. As Desmond points out, we have seen a strong magnetic field in the bunker – a fact he’s used to prop up his own doubts about continuing to type the code.

Jack: Did you ever think that maybe they put you down here to push a button every hundred minutes just to see if you would-- that all of this-- the computer, the button-- it's just a mind game, an experiment?

Desmond: Every single day.

We learn that before the film was made, things had apparently already changed. Dr. Candle tells us: “Not long after the experiments began, however, there was... an incident. And since that time, the following protocol has been observed.” Followed by the instructions to type a code every 108 minutes, that it should be done when the alarm sounds (the alarm telling you that 4 minutes remain), that the partners should take alternating shifts so as to remain “fresh and alert”, and that the code must be entered “correctly and in a timely fashion”. What was the incident? We know that the only other station we’ve seen on the island (introduced in the next episode Everybody Hates Hurley) is obviously abandoned and trashed. Was this also the result of “the incident”? Where are the replacements that were to arrive after 540 days? Is Desmond a “replacement”, knowingly or unknowingly?
When the computer is broken, Desmond reacts with panic and fear. He says “we’re all gonna die”. He tells them about Kelvin, who pulled him into the bunker after his boat crashed on the reef of the island, used the words “saving the world” when asked why they are typing the code, and later died. But Dr. Candle doesn’t ever seem particularly fearful or dire in the film. He doesn’t say anything about death or the end of the world. Yes, he does say that entering the code is of utmost importance, but it feels more like the kind of rah rah booster talk one might give to new employees. He says “congratulations” and “the future of the project is in your hands”. So where does Desmond’s fear come from? Just from the isolation of working alone for all this time? From information that Kelvin gave him that he never got around to sharing? From what Kelvin didn’t say? When he first tells them he needs to enter the code, Jack asks him “what’s gonna happen?”. This of course is the key question to which we still do not have an answer. Desmond deflects him by saying “do I know you?”. Actually, Desmond deflects the conversation several times. For example, he never answers the question about where his food comes from. When the fuses blow, he says “it’s over” and never responds to Locke’s question about what that means. Eventually, Desmond flees the bunker when he believes the computer can’t be fixed. But is he running because “the world is gonna end”? Or is he afraid that someone will know things have changed in the bunker and he’s in trouble for letting that happen? Is Jack accurate when he says “you don’t even know what you’re running from”? (Frankly, I also want to know what Jack was referring to when he said “the last time I saw the computer that was gonna save the world”.)
The film also contains the beginning of a warning about the computer, saying not to “use the computer for . . .”, cutting out before we know what not to do. Later, in the episode What Kate Did, Mr. Eko produces some additional film, found in a hollowed out book in the other bunker. Fitting nicely onto this section of film, the language used is particularly interesting:

“Do not attempt to use the computer for anything else other than the entering of the code. This is its only function. The isolation that attends the duties associated with station 3 may tempt you to try and utilize the computer for communication with the outside world. This is strictly forbidden. Attempting to use the computer in this manner will compromise the integrity of the project and worse, could lead to another incident.”

Isolation. Tempt. Forbidden. Sounds rather behavioral experiment/Skinner-box-y to me. But also: Compromise the integrity of the project. Another incident. So, we are to infer that communication with someone else is what caused “the incident”? Who was that communication with? The “Others”? And what did they have to say that was so damaging?

Notice that the additional footage does nothing to answer any of the other questions. Does it really belong to this film or is it from the orientation film for that station? Where is the rest of the missing footage to film number 3? And is just a coincidence that this portion of film is viewed right before Michael receives some forbidden communication, apparently from his son, on the computer in question?

In the Pit

This is our first view of the Tailies, but we don’t know this at first. Like the captive Jin, Michael and Sawyer, we first take this group of people to be the mysterious “Others”. The key to these scenes, of course, is that we are still seeing things from the Frontie perspective. Scenes are shot to de-emphasize our view of the people doing the attacking and capturing. In particular, their leader Ana-Lucia is not noticeable at all – obviously so that she can later pretend to be another prisoner and pump the captives for information.

The camera, and thus the audience, follows the three men into the pit (whose scary and sad history we will later learn). We are not yet meant to sympathize with these new characters, but rather to continue to attach our feelings to “our” survivors. Even though we will see more of them in the next three episodes, it’s not really until the episode The Other 48 Days that we are fully encouraged to learn about, and empathize with, all of them. (On a side note, notice that our empathy is fully engaged by isolating their story from that of the Fronties. By showing us a speeded up version of the Tailies “first season”, they are put on more of an equal footing in the audience’s sympathies.)

The scenes are fairly straightforward. We see the dynamic between the three captive men, getting a hint of how things will go when they are released. Of the new characters, we focus primarily on Ana-Lucia. And it’s not a pretty introduction. Later episodes will help to round out that first impression, but there are subtle touches to be noticed in a re-watch. For example, her description of the initial crash appears to be very accurate when compared with what we see later. And there is a little moment of stillness, a reaction when Michael talks about the Others taking his son. Now that we know the Tailies island history, we can imagine the feelings this stirred in Ana-Lucia.

Anger Management

As always, the question we should ask about a flashback is: what does this tell us about current island story? How does this explain a character’s reactions or motivation? How does it serve as a metaphor for what is going on right now?

At first glance, it is an odd flashback to have in this episode. Orientation is apparently all about action – the gun play in the bunker; the frantic attempts to fix the computer; the capture of Jin, Michael and Sawyer; their attempts to escape; Desmond’s flight through the jungle; and so on. The flashback, on the other hand, is all about how Locke can’t seem to take action. Can’t move past his anger at his father and his obsession with the way he was conned, betrayed and abandoned. He says that he just wants to know “why”, but when given the incredibly cold hearted answer, it isn’t enough.

But that’s probably just the point, isn’t it?

Remember, this episode is about orientation, not here are all the answers. An orientation is a beginning (thus its placement early in the season) – something that gets you started, tells you how to proceed. It isn’t the final destination, but hopefully shows you the path.

Helen tells Locke that she wasted 20 years of her life being angry, that she needed help to get past it and offers to help him. He promises to stop stalking his father but later she finds that he has broken that promise. Helen tells him he must choose between his father and her and sums up his real fear:

“You're scared. You're scared of moving forward--with me, with us. . . . Because you don't know what's gonna happen. None of us do.”

And that’s a nice summary of life on the island, isn’t it? Desmond doesn’t know what will happen if he doesn’t type in the numbers; the captives don’t know what will be done with them; the Tailies don’t know if they’ve captured more “Others”; Michael doesn’t know what’s happened to Walt. And that’s scary. But the important thing will be how you react to that fear – how do you move on?

Final Rant

Oh, and by the way – I still hate the whole “you push the button, no you do it, why do you just believe, why don’t you just believe” scene with a fiery passion and want to punch out both characters instead of punching a stupid button.

Just thought you’d want to know.

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