by Danielle Berg and Daniel Erenberg
The smoke monster of Lost is perhaps the show’s most mysterious element; “Smoke,” off Ben Fold Five’s album Whatever and Ever Amen is a fantastic song about a breakup. Dan and Danielle pitted these two contenders against each other to decide which is better. What they found was not the obvious conclusion they had predicted; led, perhaps, by destiny, they discovered some uncanny coincidences.
Here are some snippets from their conversation.
The Black Smoke Would Swallow/Impale Ben Folds Five
· When Locke finally had Ben all to himself, all he could ask was, “What is the smoke monster?” And no one would ask that about “Smoke” the song. It’s a sweet, pretty song about a breakup. That’s it.
· The black smoke has the capacity to kill anyone, it seems, but chooses carefully. We can appreciate discerning taste. Though, as Dan points out, we were obviously not finished with Meestah Eko. Unfortunately, we don’t call the shots. Jacob – or Richard? – does.
· Furthermore, “that motherfucker tore apart Mr. Eko so crazily that it almost made up for [him dying].”
· The CGI effect used to create the smoke monster is totally entrancing/a mindfuck.
· Dan likes the smoke monster so much, he maintains that all of Lost’s mysteries should be wrapped up at the end of the fifth season so that the sixth season can be 16 episodes of the smoke monster chasing people.
· If that happens, Lost will have to introduce so many new characters to kill off, because Danielle would like to see at least eight smoke-related deaths per episode.
· To do this, the writers could utilize their Nikki-and-Paolo strategy, placing these characters in flashback scenes they weren’t in the first time around – then kill them, this time smoke-monster style.
If the Smoke Monster Could Be Serenaded into Hiding, “Smoke” Might Be the Song to Do It
· “Smoke” would beat a lot of things in an awesome contest, says Dan.
· But not the smoke monster.
· “Smoke” reminds Danielle of a time in her life when she didn’t have to work and had no responsibilities. The smoke monster does not.
· A close look at the lyrics reveals a curious similarity: “All the things we’ve written in it/never really happened/All the people come and gone/never really lived.”
· There’s more: “Where do all the secrets live/they travel in the air” = whispers in the jungle.
· “Those who say the past is not dead/can stop and smell the smoke.”
· And finally: “You keep on saying the past is not even past/and you keep on saying/we are smoke.”
· Dan: “Is the smoke monster based on a Ben Folds Five song?”
· Danielle: “It must be.”
· Dan: Cause that actually would make the smoke monster a lot less cool.
Conclusion: The smoke monster wins, unless it’s actually based on the Ben Folds Five song.
Stray Thoughts
· Dan saw Walt in a Hot Pockets commercial last week.
· How dapper did Ben look when he was spying on Locke talking to Walt?
· Dan actually liked Ana Lucia, and the Nikki-Paolo crapisode.
· In his essay collection, Songbook, Nick Hornby writes about “Smoke” and the emotional resonance it carries for him.
