Caught up on Lost? Read on. To those lagging behind, beware: spoiler-heavy content ahead!
This is a post I’ve been wanting to create for a while now, ever since a lady named Charlotte Staples Lewis showed up on television’s smartest geek-fare show. Literary allegories and references have always been a part of the Lost mythology, but for those of us who grew up on C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia (and have, as adults, discovered his meatier works), the idea of parallels between Lewis’ writings and the world of Lost is a tantalizing one.
Following Charlotte’s arrival, though, it took quite a while — more than a full season — to discover what relation she had to the other, more famous C.S. Lewis. Recently, the writers of the show threw us a large bone in the form of a Dharma station named “The Lamp Post,” which serves as a gateway (of sorts) between the mainland United States and the island. Sharp viewers noticed the parallels immediately.
What I personally didn’t notice until fellow FG writer Carl pointed it out to me were some of the other parallels to Narnia in that same episode. Recall for a moment how, at the behest of one Ms. Hawking, Benjamin Linus had spent several episodes trying to wrangle up the Oceanic Six (along with a dead Locke, plus Desmond). When he returned to her at the church that serves as the cover for The Lamppost station with only a few of the requested people in tow, Ms. Hawking reprimanded him.
Hawking: “I thought I said all of them.”
Ben: “This was all I could get on short notice.”
Hawking (disappointed): “I guess it will have to do for now.”
Think back to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Edmund had been charged by the White Witch to fetch his brother and sisters and return to Narnia with them, delivering them to the witch. When they all arrived in Narnia, he failed to get them to follow him, so he set out on his own to at least report to her their presence in the land.
“I’m come, your Majesty,” said Edmund, rushing eagerly forward.
“How dare you come alone?” said the Witch in a terrible voice. “Did I not tell you to bring the others with you?”
“Please, your Majesty,” said Edmund, “I’ve done the best I can…”
Given that this scene in Lost takes place immediately before the introduction of The Lamp Post station, I don’t think the parallels can be ignored or chalked up to coincidence. I suddenly don’t trust Ms. Hawking, or her motives. Given that we know she was on the island at the same time as Charles Widmore in the late ’40′s/early ’50′s (as seen in the episode “Jughead”), I would not at all be surprised if she was in league with him.
That’s my personal favorite Narnia correlation, but there are others. Christianity Today has written about it Lost‘s correlation to Voyage of the Dawn Treader on their movie blog, and even Entertainment Weekly‘s Lost writer has drawn parallels with Prince Caspian. So dig in, and then share your thoughts!
Wow, I had caught the name and wondered about it, but missed all those other connections! Can hardly wait to watch again tonight!