'Let's not start the name calling...'

So, unless you've been living under a rock for the past five years and have no idea why you have come across this blog when you were really looking for tips about how to find your way when Completely Freaking Lost, you will be over the moon with the fact Lost is back (baby!!). We at Completely Freaking Lost have promised to be a lot more organised this time around, with week by week updates regarding the episodes.

So here's the first, at least from me. As my colleague has mentioned we have split the Season opener by realities. Now a lot happened on the island last week, far too much for me too talk about in one meagre post, so I've decided to focus on ONE subject. In fact I've decided to focus on three individual sentences, all three of which was said by the same character. Cerberus.

'Who in Hell is this Cerberus?!' I hear you cry. For those of you who don't know, and shame on you, Cerberus is the name given to the black smoke by the two Dharma agents stationed in the Swan - these two agents drew a map onto one of the walls, on which they had pointed out four 'Cerberus vents'. At Comic Con 2007, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof confirmed that Cerberus was the name Dharma used for the black smoke. I, for one, don't think that the name should not be taken lightly given its placement in Greek mythology. I'll talk more about that a bit later, but first lets talk about the first thing 'Ole Smokey said that set the bells in my head ringing.


1. 'I'm not a what, I'm a who...'

After beating the pulp out of the armed men who stormed Jacobs quarters, we were given the revelation, somewhat predictably, that the 'John Locke' that had returned to the island last season was in fact not 'John Locke' at all. It was Cerberus masquerading as John Locke in order to fulfill some, as yet unknown, goal. Ben Linus asked him what he was and the first of my sentences up for analysis was the reply given. This is a massive answer for us. All throughout Lost we have thought as the monster as the name would suggest. A monster. Not as a person, either mythical or otherwise, but as an entity that could not be defined as human. This, to me, begs a very simple question: is Cerberus a regular person or a figure from religion/mythology? The answer you come up with in turn begs further questions. If Cerberus is indeed just a regular human being then how the Sam-Hell did he end up being able to do the things he does? Is it down to the amount of time spent on the island? Perhaps a failed experiment by some society we're yet to encounter? The possibilities are endless.

If Cerberus is a person or figure from a Religious background or Countries Mythology then, again, we're posed with a lot of options. Like I said earlier the name Cerberus should not be taken lightly, Cerberus was the Greek equivalent to the guardian of the Underworld, and we all know how Lost fans love to make connections to the constant Heaven/Hell/Purgatory hints being thrown at us. Sometimes it seems like J.J Abrams is spinning us a yarn to distract us from the truth, others it seems like 'The Island is Purgatory' is a very believable answer to the big question.

As an addition to this section, I noticed that every time Cerberus was asked for his name he would be interrupted before he could answer. This also seems highly significant and the name he uses for himself will give us massive insight in to who and what he is.

OK, lets move on. This next one has literally been running laps around my head all week long.

2. 'Hello Richard, it's nice to see you out of those chains...'

This simple line was loaded with secrets and the build up to it was just as interesting. Richard notices the flare that 'The Others' had set off and then saw Locke walking towards him, a man he knew to be dead. He instantly knew what he was facing and he looked terrified. Which is unlike Richard Alpert. Considering we have never seen Richard scared, threatened, threatening or injured you have to ask why he looked so terrified. I think that Locke/Cerberus' comment to Richard, in my opinion, means one of two things.

1. Richard was a Prisoner aboard the Black Rock.
For a long time now people have speculated that Richard Alpert landed on the island aboard the ship marooned there, The Black Rock, and that further than just being on the Black Rock he was actually the Captain. But this comment could mean he wasn't the captain at all, but that he was a prisoner in the ship and was set free by Cerberus or Jacob. This theory is given weight by the fact that during the season five finale we see Jacob and another man sat on the beach staring out at the Black Rock at sea. I think the other man on the beach with Jacob was Cerberus and that when the ship crashed onto the Island the two of them searched the ship and found Richard locked up in the brig.

2. Richard was no longer immortal due to Jacobs death
This theory ties in with something else, the Rejuvenation Pool that the Others have in the temple. It was obviously linked to Jacob somehow and because Ben had a hissy fit and killed him the Rejuvenation Pool is now broken. I think we can cite the spring as the source of Richards eternal youth and now, without it, Richard is weak and vulnerable. Perhaps Richard's 'immortality' granted him the strength to take on Cerberus and now he has lost that strength. He is free of the 'chains' of immortality, free of his dependence on the spring to be forever young and strong.

Again the possible theories and they're ramifications on events are endless. As with everything in Lost. One thing I know for sure is that Nestor Carbonell, the actor playing Richard, is set to feature in 16 of the 18 episodes of this season. So we can assume we'll get a swift answer to what Cerberus meant by his comment.

And finally, the last thing Cerberus said that I think is interesting.


3. 'I'm disappointed, in all of you.'
I have no idea what he meant by this. But I think its worth noting. For me it throws up questions about whether or not Cerberus could well be the good guy in all of this and is disappointed that everyone is opposing him. Perhaps he is disappointed that no-one has helped him in any way and that they have forced into a situation he doesn't want to play out. Perhaps it was a massive red herring and I'll be eating my words next week, given that I have chosen to ignore the whole 'I want to go home' malarkey that everyone else has gone mad over.

As with all Lost season openers, and indeed all Lost episodes, last week posed plenty of questions and gave us lots of answers. I'm literally counting the minutes until I get to watch 'What Kate Did' and do this all again so until next time, Namaste and Good luck.