The Key

[Exie]

What's that key all about? Who does it belong to? What does it open???
Talk about all of it right here!
Remember to spoiler tag any known or suspected spoilers until after 9 pm EST (GMT -5).

[SGTSpanky]

What's that key all about? Who does it belong to? What does it open???
Talk about all of it right here!
Remember to spoiler tag any known or suspected spoilers until after 9 pm EST (GMT -5).

the nike silo! and its aimed for iraq! (lol just kidding)

seroiusly i think its for a important door to be opened durning the episode

[bwylde]

It was the shut down key for the electromagnetism thingy that they called a "fail-safe". Apparantly it was the only way to avoid pressing the button.

Edit to add more: Every 108 minutes they had to press the button to release the buildup of electromagnicity (sorry, can't remember what they called it!!) but if they turned the key, it would allow them to not have to press the button but it sounded like it would destroy the hatch. They didn't show that, but it showed what happened to the island when they turned the key.

[SGTSpanky]

dont want to read what you posted man, it might ruin the episode for me!

[bwylde]

:) Yep, I don't blame you. It's much better to see than have it described!! It's kind of complicated to explain out.

[ninjer]

Okay, so when the button isn't pressed, the electromagnetic field isn't discharged and it builds up to a sort of critical point- so critical, it brought the plane down at one point (almost certainly- or is that just what THEY want everyone to think?), but it's apparently never gotten so bad that the 108 minute clock imploded into itself before (and maybe this super level of electromagnetism was "the incident" that prompted the introduction of The Swan's new mission with the button, etc.)

I'm starting to think that when Desmond turned the key, it REVERSED the force, which sent the "quarantine" hatch cover flying UP, after which it fell to earth (and nearly killed Claire, Aaron, and Bernard). This was the "fail-safe," if you couldn't cancel the force in time, you release it as a huge discharge.

If this is true- what happens in 108 minutes? I would imagine that the force is rebuilding . . . and if even if Locke hadn't smashed the computer, the electromagnetic force almost certainly did it in, no matter what direction it was going at the time, either from pure electromagnetic force frying the thing, or from smashing it around the room.

If the magnet really "just happened" to have brought down the plane, why has the show spent so much time showing us basically that most of the main characters were SELECTED to be on that plane? True, all that could be red herrings and our speculation- but it seems almost certain that the DHARMA Initiative was choosing people to be on that plane. If not- why show us how interconnected they are? Why show us their connection to the numbers? (And if it was all just "chance," then that's bad writing in terms of foreshadowing- and I don't believe that, so . . . )

So now what? I tend to think Eko, Locke and Desmond are all still alive. A lot of my viewing party friends were certain that the key was going to just POOF EXPLODE the electromagnetic sector of the island, but I think that's "too simple" an explanation- just as I believed Jack's (and, later, the Pearl's) explanation that The Swan was just a psychological experiment was "too simple." Plus, if Desmond had just blown up The Swan, I think at least the Beachers would have heard/seen/smelled fire-smoke-death-burning. And Charlie certainly would have, since he was between the beach and the hatch.

Now this doesn't really answer any questions- it just raises more, OF COURSE, but that's why I still love Lost. If they had answered any real big questions this episode, I would have been pissed.

(So no, I don't think Desmond not pressing the button in time was the only reason that plane went down- perhaps Desmond wasn't out for 108 minutes and someone, somewhere, "sped up" the countdown, or otherwise triggered the magnet. Or maybe Kelvin set up Desmond to follow him for just that reason. Or maybe it was . . . "fate.")

(GOOD LORD! Loved this episode. More hooked than ever.)

Oh yeah and hey, do you think maybe DHARMA (etc.) did something to start the electromagnetism going crazy in the first place? If the electromagnetic disturbance is a natural feature of the island, it likely has been there for quite awhile- and it would certainly seem that it was around before DHARMA got there, otherwise- why would they study it? (Unless that's a cover for having created it, etc.) If it was always there, why didn't it build up to that level of energy before DHARMA ever existed? (And I guess you could say it had, but it's impossible to imagine no one noticed this super-magnet in the middle of the Pacific before, especially during, oh, WWII.) So either DHARMA put that field there (or created it, etc.) or they did something to it that started making it go off the effing charts . . . resulting in setting up the Swan to discharge it.

WHICH MEANS either way, DHARMA, at least at some point, knew EXACTLY what was behind that wall . . . and knew enough about it to set up a whole system of "discharging" it, which means they studied it enough to understand the mechanisms involved with it, and a way to interfere with those mechanisms with their own.

(Though Desmond brought up a good point . . . why not just make it automatic in the first place and, if not, why couldn't Kelvin just rig it to be so? It wouldn't be that hard to jury-rig something very simple and mechanical with the timer, the computer, and some wires/parts from various appliances. )

(This seems to lend creedence to the idea that the button doesn't JUST keep the electromagnetic stuff at bay, but ALSO signals that there are still people on the island- or at least in the Swan. Maybe the Others didn't react to the huge noise/light because they knew "well, the Swan's been abandoned," which they could have accepted because they had all the key players of the Losties camp- as far as they're concerned.)

[ninjer]

Some of that last post was written an hour before the rest of it . . . I'm not sure I think the force is still building up, since the key was the "fail-safe" to make the button more or less insignificant from then on. But I find it hard to believe the force is just, poof, gone.

[bobbish]

you're about to get a ton of $hit for double posting, heads up.

[ninjer]

I was just told to post this in the Key forum by a mod!

[brb8y215]

Okay, so when the button isn't pressed, the electromagnetic field isn't discharged and it builds up to a sort of critical point- so critical, it brought the plane down at one point (almost certainly- or is that just what THEY want everyone to think?), but it's apparently never gotten so bad that the 108 minute clock imploded into itself before (and maybe this super level of electromagnetism was "the incident" that prompted the introduction of The Swan's new mission with the button, etc.)

I'm starting to think that when Desmond turned the key, it REVERSED the force, which sent the "quarantine" hatch cover flying UP, after which it fell to earth (and nearly killed Claire, Aaron, and Bernard). This was the "fail-safe," if you couldn't cancel the force in time, you release it as a huge discharge.

If this is true- what happens in 108 minutes? I would imagine that the force is rebuilding . . . and if even if Locke hadn't smashed the computer, the electromagnetic force almost certainly did it in, no matter what direction it was going at the time, either from pure electromagnetic force frying the thing, or from smashing it around the room.

If the magnet really "just happened" to have brought down the plane, why has the show spent so much time showing us basically that most of the main characters were SELECTED to be on that plane? True, all that could be red herrings and our speculation- but it seems almost certain that the DHARMA Initiative was choosing people to be on that plane. If not- why show us how interconnected they are? Why show us their connection to the numbers? (And if it was all just "chance," then that's bad writing in terms of foreshadowing- and I don't believe that, so . . . )

So now what? I tend to think Eko, Locke and Desmond are all still alive. A lot of my viewing party friends were certain that the key was going to just POOF EXPLODE the electromagnetic sector of the island, but I think that's "too simple" an explanation- just as I believed Jack's (and, later, the Pearl's) explanation that The Swan was just a psychological experiment was "too simple." Plus, if Desmond had just blown up The Swan, I think at least the Beachers would have heard/seen/smelled fire-smoke-death-burning. And Charlie certainly would have, since he was between the beach and the hatch.

Now this doesn't really answer any questions- it just raises more, OF COURSE, but that's why I still love Lost. If they had answered any real big questions this episode, I would have been pissed.

(So no, I don't think Desmond not pressing the button in time was the only reason that plane went down- perhaps Desmond wasn't out for 108 minutes and someone, somewhere, "sped up" the countdown, or otherwise triggered the magnet. Or maybe Kelvin set up Desmond to follow him for just that reason. Or maybe it was . . . "fate.")

(GOOD LORD! Loved this episode. More hooked than ever.)

Oh yeah and hey, do you think maybe DHARMA (etc.) did something to start the electromagnetism going crazy in the first place? If the electromagnetic disturbance is a natural feature of the island, it likely has been there for quite awhile- and it would certainly seem that it was around before DHARMA got there, otherwise- why would they study it? (Unless that's a cover for having created it, etc.) If it was always there, why didn't it build up to that level of energy before DHARMA ever existed? (And I guess you could say it had, but it's impossible to imagine no one noticed this super-magnet in the middle of the Pacific before, especially during, oh, WWII.) So either DHARMA put that field there (or created it, etc.) or they did something to it that started making it go off the effing charts . . . resulting in setting up the Swan to discharge it.

WHICH MEANS either way, DHARMA, at least at some point, knew EXACTLY what was behind that wall . . . and knew enough about it to set up a whole system of "discharging" it, which means they studied it enough to understand the mechanisms involved with it, and a way to interfere with those mechanisms with their own.

(Though Desmond brought up a good point . . . why not just make it automatic in the first place and, if not, why couldn't Kelvin just rig it to be so? It wouldn't be that hard to jury-rig something very simple and mechanical with the timer, the computer, and some wires/parts from various appliances. )

(This seems to lend creedence to the idea that the button doesn't JUST keep the electromagnetic stuff at bay, but ALSO signals that there are still people on the island- or at least in the Swan. Maybe the Others didn't react to the huge noise/light because they knew "well, the Swan's been abandoned," which they could have accepted because they had all the key players of the Losties camp- as far as they're concerned.)



i tend to agree with this post in the fact that the key didnt blow up the hatch, that infact the electromagnetic force did. I think, based on what desmond said before he flipped the switch ("you saved my life, so now its my turn to save yours"), that he indeed did save thier lives by either a)reversing the flow of the electromagnetic field (which IS possible) or b) creatings some sort of 'shield' for the three of them. It is going to be real interesting to see where this goes next season.

[BrainFartz]

I mean... if he knew where the key was how come he didn't try to get it and flip the fail-safe switch when Jack shot the computer the first time? Why run away? Seems kinda stupid to me.

[Lord Amarth]

Because that time he had time to get away. He'd rather get away from the island and leave them to push the button like kelvin planned to do to him.

[charon]

I mean... if he knew where the key was how come he didn't try to get it and flip the fail-safe switch when Jack shot the computer the first time? Why run away? Seems kinda stupid to me.

it's not just a fail safe. It destroys the hatch. That's why he said "I love you Penny" before he turned the key...he knew he was commited suicide.

[bubu1967]

I also think the letter he found in his book from Penny gave him some form of acceptance which is why he was willing to go for the fail-safe this time.
There was a particular line in the note,can't remember it now but that may of changed his attitude
Plus of course the fact that he had time to get away the last time
and his answer to most things acording to the flashback and what Penny said(again this is not the exact quote but its something along the lines of) - Why are you always running away

[Sir Lag A Lot]

I want to know why didn't Desmond tell them that it was real the first time?

[bwylde]

I think he didn't realize how real it was until he realized that the plane crash coincided with the previous system failure. I don't think until that point he realized the magnitude of it and may of possibly thought it wasn't as real as it was.

[johnny_sack]

I think he didn't realize how real it was until he realized that the plane crash coincided with the previous system failure. I don't think until that point he realized the magnitude of it and may of possibly thought it wasn't as real as it was.

Exactly - 100% agree. You've hit the nail on the head.

[Javaman]

I don't believe that he, Locke, or eck are dead. He only believes that the key activates a selfdestruct because that is what he was told. We didn't see what happened in the hatch after he turned the key. Perhaps the white light and noise was from the countdown expiring and not the key being turned.

[Razor]

A little Off Topic - but, could there be more than one device? It remains odd and still unexplained (to me, anyway) that Danielle would mention "Brandon a prit les clés"/"Brandon took the keys" in her transmitted distress call. What else on this island will require keys? They must have been important (to whomever the distress call was intended) to be mentioned during an apparent life/death scenario.:confused:

Aside: Would anyone be surprised to find out Danielle's research vessel/expedition was owned/run by a french subsidiary of Widmore Industries?:rolleyes: :cool:

[DarkDragoon]

I don't believe that he, Locke, or eck are dead. He only believes that the key activates a selfdestruct because that is what he was told. We didn't see what happened in the hatch after he turned the key. Perhaps the white light and noise was from the countdown expiring and not the key being turned.
It seems to me that the white light and noise was the release of all the magnetic energy.

And I don't think that turning the key blows up the hatch.. well in a sense it does.. I think it's just that the discharge of electromagnetic energy is so strong that, at the very least, the people down there are gonna get smashed against the wall.. but the force probably destroys the hatch as well.

[Ellyson]

so what would have happened if Desmond didn't turn the key? would the whole hatch just implode upon itself?