Roland the Gunslinger has his fortune told by Man in Black who hopes to manipulate the Gunslinger to bring about his downfall while advancing the evil plans of MiB's master, The Crimson King.
MIB: "These are Tarot cards, gunslinger.Roland: "Read my fortune then".
The first card was turned. "The Hanged Man," the man in black said..."Yet here, in conjunction with nothing else, it signifies strength, not death. You, gunslinger are the Hanged Man, plodding ever onward toward your goal over the pits of Na'ar (Hell). You've already dropped one co-traveller into that pit, have you not?" (Roland sacrificed Jake in order to confrom MiB)
The Hanged Man:
Roland Deshain, last Gunslinger
Mr Badd's Choice for the Lost Gunslinger:
Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard is the man, nuf said.
Jack was always a leader. Brave, loyal, fearless. Now he has learned to follow as well as lead, and to turn from danger rather than run head long toward it. He has come face to face with F-Locke, confronted James 'Sawyer' Ford over their path and has willingly left all he knows and love behind to follow his own fate. He is Luke Skywalker making his run on the Death Star. His wingmen are gone, R2D2 is gone, he turns off the computer and it is him and the force against the Empire with Darth Vader in hot pursuit. Well, Jack has left his friends as they head for the believed safety of Hydra Island and Widemore's Sub. He leaves his true love Kate and turns toward danger to face his destiny. He is emersed in the water, another baptism, but this time of hope and is reborn. He does not have long to wait as Locke/MiB greets him as he crawls ashore.
Sailor
Desmond Hume
"The Sailor! Note the clear brow, the hairless cheeks, the wounded eyes. He drowns, gunslinger, and no one throws out the line. The boy Jake."
Dark Tower
John (Jake) Chambers is a young boy who the Gunslinger initially sacrifices to catch Man in Black, and begin his path to the Dark Tower. Jake drowns in an underground river when an ancient bridge crumbles. Roland can either save him and abandon his quest or let him fall and pursue the man in black. Roland lets him fall. 'Later', Gunslinger 'saves' Jake's life by traveling through a door to Jake's reality and saves his life and prevents him from being transported to the Gunslinger's world so that he never meets Roland and Roland never sacrifices him.
This creates a time paradox for both Jake and the Gunslinger and they begin to go mad. They are saved when Roland's companions help him create a door to Jake's reality. Jake is drawn to the connecting door in his reality, they overcome the demons guarding each entry way and Jake is united in Roland's world and becomes part of his Ka'tet, a brotherhood united by Ka (fate).
He becomes' the Gunslinger's symbolic son. During their quest, Jake sacrifices his life to perserve the life of someone essential to the universe's survival.
LOST
Desmond has been fate's pawn, manipulated by Charles Widemore, Eloise Hawking, Kelvin, Charles Widemore again and now briefly at the mercy of F-Locke/Sayid. He sailed onto the Island and is instrumental in the Flash-Sideways alerting the other Losties to their alternative life. I am sure that he will be instrumental in bridging the two realities just as Jake created a door to enter into Roland's world.
The Prisoner
Charlie Pace
The third card was turned. A baboon stood grinningly astride a young man's shoulder. The young man's face was turned up, a grimace of stylized dread and horrow on his features. Looking more closely, the gunslinger saw the baboon held a whip. "The Prisoner," the man in black said..."A trifle upsetting, isn't he?"
DARK TOWER
Eddie Dean is a heroin addict and faces heroin withdrawal symptoms when he is drawn into Roland's world, but despite his suffering, he also shows an affinity for the ways of the gunslinger. Unwillingly at first, and somewhat under duress, Eddie becomes Roland's companion through Mid-World, and he soon falls in love with and marries Susannah, the next member of Roland's ka-tet. He has an irracible wit and humor that transfroms from sarcasim to a boyish, if crude, humourous nature that buoys his companions. He is absolutely loyal and brave. He has a keen insight, intuition and intelligence which is critical in solving several obstacles that stymy Roland and his companions. He is so persuasive that his brother remarked he could "convince the Devil to set himself on fire." He dies in the attack to free the 'breakers of the beam' from their prison.
LOST
Charlie Pace fits the bill very closely and his death by drowning on a mission Jack sent him on to shut down the jamming signal is right in line with Eddie's sacrifice. Jack brought him back from the dead in both realities and Charlie saved Jack's life when the cave's collopsed. His love of Claire mirrors Eddie's love for Susannah.
The Lady of the Shadows
Claire Littleton & Kate Austen
"The Lady of the Shadows," the man in black remarked. "Does she look two-faced to you, gunslinger? She is. Two faces at least. She broke the blue plate!"
DARK TOWER
Susannah has a split personality schizophrenia caused by an attack by Jack Mort. Her dominent personality Odetta Susannah Holmes, well-mannered but priggish woman active in the civil rights, her other personality, Detta Susannah Walker is murderously psychotic, paranoid and incredibly crafty. She eventually manages to integrate her personalities into a single, far more balanced individual, and she becomes Susannah Dean, Eddie's wife. In a bizarre twist when she becomes pregnant, her pregnancy is actually carried by another entity, Mia. A tortured soul (demon) who longs for a single thread of humanity.
LOST
Claire is a clear choice for the Shadow Woman. She is emotionally scarred and broken from her isolation on the Island with only MiB to counsel her with bitter words and lies. She shows herself to be murderously psychotic, paranoid and incredibly crafty as she deals death to the Others and tries to kill Kate. But her former self is buried beneath the anger fueled by MiB. Claire responds to Kate's entreaties and she joins their plan to flee the Island. But Claire is not alone the Shadow Woman. Her child was raised and cared for by Kate mirroring the dual aspects of Susannah and Mia. Kate clearly has the strength, fearlessness and loyalty to match Susannah's dedication to her fate bound companions.
Well that's my Lost Ka'Tet. It's been a long time coming. Mostly cause every time I thought I had an insight, I'd realize that Lost has many more characters and complex inter-relationships than Dark Tower. In fact there could be 3 different or interwoven Ka'Tets on Lost. Certainly at least two Ka'Tets, one for each reality. And many of the characters could fit the role's laid out by the Dark Tower's Ka'Tet.Anyway, since my blog has been about comparing Lost with the Dark Tower I figured I finally had to just break down and choose who I felt most closely matched the characters and roles of Roland's companions and here they are. I'd love to hear your comments and please correct me if I missed something obvious. Always love to hear back from anybody reading the blog.
take it easy
it ain't all half-badmr badd
p.s. leave me a comment or e-mail me at mrbaddislost@gmail.com -- I guarantee you'll get a response, just can't guarantee it will make sense
p.p.s.
stay away from the Evil Twin "Bad Lost Theories" Site. There is only 1 'd' in Bad, so how could it be any good?
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