In this, my last "review the clues" post before season 3 resumes, I discuss the whispers that can be heard from time to time on the island, from no obvious direction or location. This post comes with several caveats.
1. People with far more time than I have (and presumably better equipment) have deciphered the whispers. Everything I "know" about them, I found on the internet.
2. I have tinnitis, or a persistent high-pitched ringing in my ears, which means I can't make out 90% of what they claim to have heard.
In other words, this may all be a load of hogwash. Or it may offer some very interesting clues. Lawyers typically must evaluate not only the content of evidence, but also the weight it is to be given, considering the source. Lost loving lawyers are no different.
You can get a glimpse of what I'm talking about at the above link (or by clicking on the title of this post). The information comes primarily from two frequent posters to the official Lost Blog, thefuselage.com, who themselves Penyours and RVTurnage.
Penyours and RVTurnage postulate, and purport to prove, that the whispers are found, not just in the obvious jungle scenes when the sound mixers ramp them up and the characters seem to hear them, but also buried in many of the more climactic scenes of the series.
Some of the more interesting notes from these whisper transcripts are presented here, but I invite you to check out the full panoply at the above link and let me know what you think.
From the season opener, "A Tale of Two Cities," the scene in which Jack could not hear Juliet through the glass of his tank. The whispers appeared (and were followed by Christian Sheppard's voice on the intercom). Here's the transcript (references in parentheses are lines of dialog from the main scene):
Has she tried to talk to him (or) shall we talk to him Look on Has he answered (or) His head is hurtdon't (won't) talk We're not sure if he knows that much (or) We’re not sure if we’ll find out muchThat's what I was thinkingLet him go freeIt's not easy keeping something that secret (sacred) (Jack: If you're trying to talk to me, I can't hear you)What are you gonna do (or) go on and do it Let it go Jack (Christian's voice?)Now I can tell what you're doing Bring it back to her
So who are these voices? In this and several other scenes, they seem to offer a running commentary, not to mention some apparently unheard advice to the characters. This is also evident from last season's finale, "Live Together, Die Alone," in which the voices were clearly audible (though perhaps indecypherable) when Jack's party was ambushed by the Others in the clearing near the pneumatic tubes from the Pearl stations:
This is no good (or) Let's do something (or) We're near themHe's asking him somethingYeah but what happenedThey saw a smoke signal Elizabeth Did (does) somebody see you (or) It looks like her but You' re on her right Behind you I'll have to listen to the dreams (trees) to learn (find) something He'll need to instruct you (or) Do we ambush Why can't you (two) do it (or) Can't you see(Sawyer gets hit with dart) Got to have a team with you Okay crank it up(Kate: Sawyer!) I knew that something bad would happenI assume this is how you would do itDon't tell anyone he wants it done (or) Don't want anyone to dieLets assemble them (or) This is similar (or) What's this symbol of(Jack: Run! Go! Go!) It was herSo she was never taken (or) So she must never take it (or) I'm sure it's just new to youSaid I was about to (or) Someone attacked them Get your butt out of there Try the sequenceHad to be given lessonsTurn it on beside youDon't do it Don't see (Gunshots)You're gonna have to do itYou are too Why can't we choose (or) I can't reach itTwo more people (or) Too young peopleI'm frightenedPleaseCome on it's simpleIntruder alertDo you think I should I lock thisNo , I've seen them beforeClose the doorYou all need me.
I highlight "Elizabeth" because I heard this myself in the scene. In context, in the episode we had just discovered that Desmond's future boat, the Elizabeth, was named by its original owner after his wife, Libby. Because I was able to catch that at the time, I think there may be some credence to these transcripts. That said, they tend to be a bit more abstract than I like my clues to be.
Other whisper sequences give the sense that the whisperers are the masterminds pulling strings on the island. Take for example this transcript, of what the whispers supposedly said the first time we clearly heard them, when Sayid had just fled into the jungle from Danielle Rousseau's bunker in "Solitary":
(Man's voice) Just let him get out of here (Second Man's Voice) He's seen too much already What if he tells (Woman's voice) Could just speak to him (Man's voice) No
Much like Desmond, the whispers also seem to have some ability to tell what is about to happen. See this transcript from "The Other 48 Days," from the scene when the whispers appeared, disoriented Ana Lucia, and she inadvertently shot Shannon (who had been having a tender moment with Sayid before chasing a vision of Walt):
Relax Dude, I think she likes the guy You're life Ich Weiss Nicht (German for 'I don't know')Look out Ana’s the trigger You're gonna kill her Move on (Gun shot) See ya (Like a chorus singing just after the gunshot)------Shannon She likes the guy, she likes the guy Shannon Your life and and time is up Help me Shannon, meet me on the other side Her song('Ana-Lucia' when reversed)(Gun shot)------Relax dude, she likes the guy, she likes the guy Shannon(In the background) I know it all I know it all...(In the background) Dying sucks Shannon I don't think you should tell her when she comes Obviously she likes youWho's the guy?I want to see ShannonEye to eye(In the background) Who's the guy? Fire Lucia The brothers that help us Are you done with it? Her song('Ana-Lucia' when reversed)(Gun shot)Fire
Finally, here is a series of whispers from "One of Them," in a scene in which Sayid was interrogating "Henry," which suggests the whispers may be alligned with, or have some interest in, the Others:
Maybe we should have stopped it / him Try to execute We've got to see if we can get through to him (Sayid: Tell me about this balloon) Get off for a second (Henry: What?) Something's blocking it / It's right beside him (Sayid: This balloon that brought you here with your wife)Go ahead and do it Might have heard from him / My eyes hurt (Henry: What do you want to know) Is he gonna give it away He's interrogating him (Sayid: Everything) Calmly begin speaking and act completely...So it's okay...We can get you through this ordeal We are minding the radio (Henry: She's a hundred and forty feet high, sixty feet wide...) It ain't sixty feet...It can't be much taller than that... maybe a hundred footer (Henry: and when she's up in the air, 550,000 cubic feet of helium...) Clearly he thought you were on top if it / Clearly he's not too on top of it That gives more to do (Henry: And if you could look down on her...)He's on to him Probably blew it (Henry: you'd see a...) So he buys it He played him(Henry: big yellow smiley face on top) It's not quite ready I need help They don't believe him (Sayid: Why would you travel in that way?) Tell him "for my business" Why else would he do it (Henry: Because I was rich...) Any country might have fit Just stay calm and he won't hurt you(Henry: It was my dream) I know you're doing something Screwed something up / He *beep* it up I don't know how else to put it
There are of course other whisper sequences supposedly decoded by Penyours and RVTurnage, which you can find on the page linked above, or by googling "lost whispers." As with the clues found on the map and in the mural (see prior posts below), these transcripts offer more insight into some of the phenomena we have clearly seen: Walt's abilities, and his reverse-speaking apparition to Shannon and Sayid; Desmond's clairvoyance; smokey's brain image download; Locke and Eko's visions and dreams. Again, I don't have any idea if these transcripts are accurate, or what to make out of some of the less obviously contextually-linked lines. The stream of consciousness that seems to be reflected suggests a form of telepathy, as in thoughts not fully organized into language. Either that, or Penyours and RVTurnage just have too much time and imagination, but not particularly good ears.
Please, go to the link and take a listen. Let me know what you think.
Next week, before "Not in Portland," my rundown of spoilers of hints for the rest of the season...
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