Monday, March 17, 2008

SO... Who Is the Last Member of the Oceanic Six?
I've wavered on this one for the past few episodes, and now that the 7th episode has aired -- and Damon and Carlton had said we'd know all 7 of them by the time the ep was finished -- it's still unclear who the Oceanic Six are. Someone posted to say that the list had been confirmed by producers on another site, but when I went to check it out, it appeared to just be speculation from a "source," and not the actual producers.

Five of them are clear: Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sayid, and Sun. But who is the sixth? Here is a list of possible candidates, and my thoughts on each one.

Aaron:
This one is the resounding frontrunner right now. I've been reluctant to accept him as the sixth member, as have a lot of fans. Other fans are rolling their eyes right now and saying, "Why the hell couldn't he be? It's as obvious as the letters you are typing right now..." He was shown in a flashforward; he was definitely on the island; it just stands to reason that he's one of the Six. I was a holdout on this theory, and after "Ji Yeon" aired, a couple of posters came closer to convincing me than I had been previously, namely Eric, who said that if the term "Oceanic Six" is a media construct, they would have given that name to the six people who were rescued from the island, whether or not they were on the plane.

But here's why I'm resisting this option: the events in "Eggtown" would suggest otherwise. First, in the scene with Kate and her lawyer, when the lawyer suggests they bring Aaron to the stand, and "tell people what you did" (i.e. presumably rescuing Aaron and keeping her as her own son), she goes ballistic, saying no no no, don't bring my son into this. But if he were one of the Oceanic Six, wouldn't his face have been splashed all over the papers, and the great feat of heroism would be obvious already? I've put forward that idea already, and one reader posted a comment, saying that if the rescue happened 2 years earlier, he would have been a baby when it happened. Now that he's 2 and a half, presumably, since Jack goes nuts in April 2007 and in the Kate flashforward he's still holding it together (the kid looks 4, but we'll chalk that one up to poor casting), he looks different, and Kate wants to keep his face out of the papers. Fair enough, but the actual reason why the lawyer wants him there -- to let the jury know what Kate did -- seems moot if the story would have been made public to explain why she came back with a kid.

But more importantly, as I've said on the comments board, the math simply doesn't add up. Here is Jack's false statement on the witness stand:

JACK: Only eight of us survived the crash. We landed in the water. I was hurt, pretty badly. In fact, if it weren't for her, I would have never made it to the shore. She took care of me. She took care of all of us. She--she gave us first aid, water, found food, made shelter. She tried to save the other two, but they didn't--


And then he's cut off. Eight survived the crash. Then another one was born. One assumes a survivor is Claire, and she has the baby on the island. Now we're up to nine. "The other two" didn't survive, by the sounds of what he's saying. Now we're down to seven. And the rescuees total... six. What happened to the other one? Did the writers not think that one through? Doesn't seem possible, considering how careful they are with EVERYTHING these days. A quick look at the plane's manifest would show that Aaron wasn't on the plane, so he can't be counted among the 8 people who Jack claims survived the crash.

SO... the only way Kate's adamant refusal to put Aaron in the spotlight and Jack's math make sense is if there are six survivors OTHER than Aaron, and they smuggled him on board the helicopter and kept him hidden from the media and prying public. If he is one of the Six, then Jack's statement on the stand would have been obviously false for a jury.

Michael:
Because Michael was revealed to be alive and well (one assumes, though there's some speculation that he's actually a grown-up Walt), some have suggested he's automatically the sixth, because he was revealed in the episode. That's a bit of a stretch, considering by episode 7 we've also seen every other person on the island still alive, so couldn't it be any of them? This is in keeping with the theory that Michael's the guy in the coffin, and the reason why Jack's so distraught in 2007, etc. However, if he IS the guy in the coffin, and was one of the Oceanic Six, then his death wouldn't have been some footnote at the back of the paper, it would have been HUGE news. One of the Oceanic Six hanged himself? That's big.

Of course, if Michael isn't actually the guy in the coffin, then he very well could be the sixth member. But we haven't seen him in a flashforward in that case, and the same could be said for every other survivor on the island right now.

Ben:
We've seen Ben's passports and money; we know he's getting off the island somehow, and we've seen him in Sayid's flashforward. He could have gotten the files on every person on board that plane to find out which person was a loner with no family, then had a passport made to make himself that person, and boom, he's one of the Six. But Ben is just too mysterious to me, and if he really did have anything to do with that crash, why would he want his mug splashed on the front of every newspaper in the world? The fact he's hidden away in a dark room when Sayid comes to see him at the end of "The Economist," and he's made Sayid his hitman, makes me think Ben will stay behind the scenes, and not put himself out there for the world to see.

Jin:
Some have speculated that Jin actually DID get rescued with the others and made it back, only to die naturally or at the hands of Paik. But if that were the case, his tombstone would have had a date on it after the rescue, and instead it's posted as the date of the crash, so I don't think this one's even a question: He's not one of the Six.


Did I miss anyone? I think these are the biggies right now. Maybe Darlton were wrong when they said we'd know by episode 7, and there's still someone else to be seen in the future on another episode. But if we have seen all of them, then I'm betting the sixth really is Aaron, and the writers screwed up on "Eggtown." I'd be shocked that they screwed up, so I'm not committing to it yet, but it makes the most sense of any of them.

Doesn't mean I have to like it.

So who do you think is the sixth?

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is it possible that Claire is the 6th member? Desmond saw her boarding a helicopter in one of his flashes.

Could she have died, off the island, of complications from her Island pregnancy?

Richard Malkin 'saw' that Claire should give up her child for adoption to 'Good People' in LA. Could Kate have been that person he saw? Do Kate and Jack hook up at some point, and raise Aaron together?

Anonymous said...

I'm going to say Vincent is #6. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Anonymous said...

Are there any characters currently on the Island that we don't really know (like Nikki and Paulo were)? Someone in the background who may get off that we haven't really noticed and could have been in a flashforward?

If not, I'm going with Aaron.

Wawa said...

The Claire thing has confused me because she was seen by Desmond to get on a helicopter. I think that HAS to happen.

But I think from what we know now that Aaron is most logical.

Anonymous said...

logically, i think it's aaron, even though my gut tells me it's michael. like you, nikki, i don't think aaron makes sense given the information we've been presented, but it appears that's who the writers are indicating it is, so ... whatever. (i don't have to like it, either!)

Crackedout said...

It's not michael. I already shared my theory in the other thread but here it is again. Michael is already off of the isalnd. He's got a new alias (which I believe Ben supplied for him) now all he's got to do is leave with the freighter or find some other way off of it. Michael Dawson becomes one of the casualties of O-815. Michael proceeds to live the rest of his short life as Kevin Johnson until he is later murdered by Sayid (on Ben's orders), which has been staged to look like an accident and he's in the coffin in Jack's flashforward.

I think Aaron is the sixth. "Oceanic Six" is probably just a name coined by the media so it doesn't matter that he hadn't been born yet.

Jack said that eight survived the crash so if Aaron is counted among the O-6 then does that mean that, according to Jack's trial story, 3 people who survived the crash dies? Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Kate and Sun make 5. If Jack counts Aaron as a survivor then that leaves 2 dead. If he doesn't, then that leaves 3 dead!

Nikki Stafford said...

crackedout: A couple of things with your theory: The man who is in the coffin is named John Lantham, not Kevin Johnson, so if you just tweak your theory, Michael probably lives under a series of aliases for the rest of his life, and John Lantham is the last one.

I don't object to Aaron being one of the sixth just because he wasn't on the manifest. I didn't say that in my post, even though I know some people are arguing that. That has nothing to do with it. I accept the Oceanic Six is a media construct. The problem is Jack's description OF that media construct that doesn't allow for Aaron to fit into that. It comes off as a writing mistake.

Nikki Stafford said...

Redeem: Let's hope there are no other Nikki and Paulos. I dont think fans could take it.

Nikki Stafford said...

fiveagainst: I love your idea about Malkin actually seeing Kate and Jack... great idea!

Claire could be one of the sixth, but only if they all hid Aaron, because if he had come back with her, then there would have been an Oceanic Seven.

Barry said...

Nikki, I have a way that Aaron is one of the six, and Jack's story makes sense. Jack said there were eight survivors, and he was about to say that two of them didn't live very long or something like that. That leaves six other survivors: Jack, Kate, Hugo, Sayid, Sun and Claire. Later, Claire gives birth to Aaron, and then she dies. Now that is just Jack's story, and Claire may or may not be dead. But Aaron becomes one of the six, and Jack's story makes sense. And three survivors actually die.

Or, like Jeff said, it's Vincent.

Barry said...

Just to add something: And Kate stopped Jack, because she didn't want him to bring Aaron into the story, for whatever reasons.

Brian Douglas said...

barry: I agree with you about the Clair/Aaron thing.

Anonymous said...

A case can definitely be made for Aaron counting as one of the Oceanic Six. If Aaron were a secret, and not counted as one of the Oceanic Six, then Kate would be raising him in secret and she never would have told her mom (who was going to testify against her) about his existence. But if Aaron were one of the Oceanic Six, then he would have been profiled by the media, and Kate's mom would have heard about him. The fact that she asks Kate to see her grandson makes me believe that Aaron's existence is public knowledge. And that is easiest to explain if he is one of the Oceanic Six.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Kate finally gets sick and tired of Sawyer's and Jack's machismo and falls for Claire. Claire and Kate are a couple raising Aaron together...yeah, I know a long shot!

Jonathan said...

They haven't really given him much air time, but I'm thinking that this guy has to be the sixth.

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Mptv/1063/3449-0032.jpg

Maurizio said...

I'm inclined to believe that Aaron is the sixth of the Oceanic Six, but probably Darlton were fooling us deliberately. I bet the upcoming episode will settle this matter with more than a surprise.

Nikki Stafford said...

Barry: That is the most well-thought-out argument I've read yet that would not only justify Aaron as one of the Six, but remove any conflict in the script. You finally convinced me. :)

Steve gee said...

Wawa: I have to agree that Desmond does see Clair get on the helicopter but I think something happens to her shortly after she boards it.

My sixth person is Christian Sheperd. I don't know why but he seems like an interesting choice. There seem to be such a big deal with Jack trying to get him on board the plane. Also I thought for some reason at the end of season three in Jack's flash forward that he mentioned about getting or talking to his father as if he was alive.

Maybe the scenerio is this: Kate, Christian, Jack and Clair are on the same helicopter and Jack/Clair find out about each other. Jack and Christian argue(probably over ruining two families) and have a shoving match and Jack pushes Christian into Clair and Clair falls out of the helicopter. Kate somehow rescues or grabs Aaron. That's why Jack can't visit Kate at home because he feel he is directly responsible for Aaron becoming an orphan. Eventually Jack will not be able to handle the internal pain and turns to alcohol and pain pills to cope. Until he gets word from somebody (maybe Ben) that Clair is still alive and is on the island along with Jin, Sawyer, Locke, etc... Now Jack's whole focus is to get back to the island to rescue his step sister and returning her back to her child. We'll see...

Anonymous said...

After much resistence to the idea, I believe that Aaron is one of the six. I think that the writers included him, so that there would be some doubt and confusion, to hide the fact that Jin's story was a flashback and not a flashfoward. If everyone was in agreement that Aaron was one of the six, then everyone would have figured out sooner that Jin's story was a flashback

The Chapati Kid said...

The reason Kate doesn't want him to be seen could be because she's protecting his identity, given the media exposure around. Kind of like what Michael Jackson does with his kids minus the blankets and face veils and taking them out in public dressed that way. Is it too much to ask that she doesn't want his face plastered all over what is essentially a media circus? Which would explain why he could be one of the O-6, but Kate wants to protect him.

K J Gillenwater said...

I am still sticking with Michael/Walt. Yes, we've seen every character on the island up to this past episode (which means they also could be one of the six according to Nik's logic), but Michael/Walt is the only plane crash survivor who is officially off the island....and I don't think he's going to go back. He was determined to get off.

But since Thursday's episode is Michael-centric and this is last episode that was filmed before the strike (right?), I can see some rather large bombshell being dropped on Thursday. Which really makes me think Michael is Walt.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say something about the date of jack's flashforward. We don't know that april 5th is the actual date of the flashforward. They might of just filmed it that day and used that days newspaper. Since they aired it May 23 its likely that that's probably what happened.

About the Oceanic six, I didn't think it could be Aaron for a while, but Eric, (which happens to be my name)was pretty convincing and I don't know who else it would be. After what Nikki said about Jin and his gravestone, it makes it seem very unlikely that it's him. Micheal is a good theory, but he's the spy on the boat and he has already left the island (as far as we know) so I don't think it could be him.

Kris Eton said...

Okay, this is something sort of unrelated, but it just came to me....remember how Walt is supposed to be 'special' somehow? I was looking in the Lost wikipedia thingie to jog some memories....and I think I may have an idea. I think Walt is special because he can time travel and always has been able to...since he was a small child. He 'sees' things before they happen.

Like that one episode where he was little and pointed at the book at a bird, and the same exact bird crashed into the window not two seconds later. Back then, I assumed he was able to conjure up things he had seen in books. He did the same thing with the polar bear on the island...or so I thought.

But if you go back to Walt when his dad his building the raft, he burns it down. He doesn't want to get on the raft. He never really explains why. I'm wondering now if all these things aren't indicative of time traveling and 'seeing' or 'knowing' the future to some degree.

I cannot wait to see tonight's episode...because if that is the case, the thought that "Michael" could be Walt is a bigger possibility to me.

The writers claim that they took into account that Walt (the actor who played him) wouldn't stay small forever. I think that is an interesting remark. They could use the now-teen looking actor as proof that he can appear 'older' in a short period of time.

Someone tell me if I'm just being nuts here...

Kris Eton said...

This was on tvguide.com...

Ausiello on Lost

Question: Please settle a heated office dispute regarding Lost: Aaron is or is not one of the Oceanic Six?— Dane

Ausiello: Aaron is *** *** of the Oceanic Six.

I would say the asterisks mean "not one"...also there was a further post that clarified that Lindelof and what's-his-face only admitted that we have seen the Oceanic 6 by now...not in what capacity (on the island, on a boat, etc.). Which is a big cop-out, as far as I am concerned.

They also said that they aren't the ones who write the ABC promos.

I don't think Aaron's one of them.

Barry said...

Kris--That question/answer from Ausiello on tvguide.com (watch out for spoilers they don't warn you about on that site!) was posted on 2/27, i.e., after Eggtown aired. In an Ausiello post this week, he says that we should look at the asterik thing again, and consider all possibilities. Maybe it says "Aaron is NOW ONE of the O6". We just have to wait and see, because Darlton have purposely been murky on this point. But, look at all the discussion it's generated.

pete said...

LOST NIGHT!!!

Anonymous said...

I don't know who the last member of the Oceanic Six is, but I don't think that Aaron is it. I can't see the writers making that big of a mistake. Little continuity errors happen, but I don't think they could mess something that big up.

As for the identity of the man in the coffin, I think it might be Ben. It explains why Kate wouldn't want to go to his funeral. Ben doesn't have any off-island family or friends (that we know of). We now know that he has the resources to create a false identity, perhaps "John Lantham." And the coffin was pretty small if I remember correctly. Isn't Ben relatively short? We also know that Ben apparently has some enemies on a list that he's having Sayid kill.

K J Gillenwater said...

Oh, I was so, so wrong. I think I try too hard...

Yes, it is Aaron. Michael is Michael not Walt.

Bummer.

Rather a dull episode for me overall. Not a whole lot of surprising information. Except for the bit at the end with Alex.

Looking forward to your comments tomorrow, Nik!

K J Gillenwater said...

Oh, and now I do believe the guy in the coffin was Michael. Something happened, and he was finally able to kill himself.

Anonymous said...

I think the sixth person is whoever is flying the plane or helicopter. Who on the island knows how to fly?

Anonymous said...

The Nirvana son we hear in the car is called Scentless Apprentice not just Scentless.
Coulos Xander