A Primer on the Incident

Can you believe that the season finale of Lost has come? It seems like we just started watching.

The last 2 episodes will be aired on Wednesday, May 13. The title of the episodes: The Incident. So, I thought it time to post a primer on the subject of the Incident, of which we’ve learned little.

The Incident was first mentioned by Pierre Chang as Marvin Candle in the Swan Orientation film, hopefully posted below, which was first seen in edited fashion by Jack and John Locke in Orientation. Desmond had hidden it behind a copy of The Turn of the Screw. Mr. Eko revealed the missing part of the film in What Kate Did, having found it in a Bible at the Arrow station. Kelman told Desmond that Radzinsky had edited the film, though we don’t know why he did so.

The film introduces the founders of the Dharma Initiative, the DeGroots, Ph.D students at the University of Michigan, and their sponsor, Alvar Hanso, a Danish industrialist. According to the film, the Swan was originally designed as a laboratory to study the unique electromagnetic fluctuations at this part of the island. However, an incident recalled the establishment of a protocol, one we observed numerous times in Season 2.

Please note that Marvin Candle has a prosthetic arm.

And that’s it. It was never mentioned again, until Daniel Faraday returned to the Island in 1977 in an apparent attempt to prevent the occurrence of the Incident. I hope that we learn how Daniel learned of the Incident, but I’m not holding my breath.

It also occurs to me that Radzinsky and Kelman worked together in the Swan station for years, until Radzinsky finally kills himself, long after the Incident. I guess that means he'll survive this week's episode. Damn.

In the meantime, wait patiently for Wednesday, and Namaste.