Answers have slowly unfolded in the years since, but Season 5 is really giving viewers a glimpse ar the DHARMA Initiative in its prime, much to the chagrin of the big wigs back in Ann Arbor.
In this Lost character guide, we examine the men and woman and Jacobs who made DHARMA tick during its decades-long tenure on the Island. From mainstays like Pierre Chang and Horace Goodspeed, to newcomers like Oldham and Radzinsky, we let loose everything we know about this odd bunch.
And still, plenty of questions remain. If you think you have the answers, be sure to stop on by the comments section and share your wisdom. But watch out for hostiles, especially those wearing guy-liner.
Jim LaFleur
In case you missed it, Sawyer is currently operating under a new name – Jim LaFleur. When Sawyer and his friends found themselves trapped in 1977, he was forced to invent a cover story to avoid the wrath of DHARMA. Fortunately, that was no great challenge for this skilled con artist.
The newly-baptized Jim LaFleur did his job so well, that he managed to rise to head of security on the Island. Even Pierre Chang has respect for his work. However, with his friends now back on the Island, LaFleur finds new holes being poked in his careful story everyday. If he isn't careful, Sawyer's new life could come crashing down around him.
Amy
Amy is one of the first DHARMA members Sawyer and friends encounter after being marooned in 1974. Amy was enjoying a nice picnic in the woods with her husband, Paul, when they were attacked by the Hostiles. Thanks to Sawyer's intervention, Amy survived this brush with death.
Paul? Not so lucky.
Three years later, Amy started a new family with Horace. With assistance from Juliet, Amy underwent what may well be the first successful birth on the island. Her baby? Why, none other than future Other, Ethan. You might remember him as the guy who could take a full clip to the chest and not die, right away.
Amy is not at all happy about sharing the Island with the Hostiles. Her pleasant demeanor masks a dark, manipulative side. Though she is only concerned with protecting baby Ethan, she had no qualms about killing Sayid to do so.
Phil
Phil is a weaselly DHARMA member who works under Jim LaFleur. This security officer seems to be eternally conflicted by two warring sets of emotions. On one hand, he lives in fear of failing in his duties and attracting LaFleur's wrath. On the other, he's a naturally suspicious person, which tends to make him a better security guard than one might expect.
Phil is very distrustful of DHARMA's newest recruits, as well as Sayid. He drilled Kate about her recruitment until Juliet interceded. He seemed rather bemused at the idea of jack referring to LaFleur as James. Though Phil seems generally incompetent, the castaways had best watch themselves around him, lest they blow their cover.
Roger Linus
If you're wondering why Benjamin Linus is such a cold, conniving jerk, look no further than his father, Roger. Roger always blamed his son for the death of his wife, who died soon after giving birth. This led Roger to constantly berate and abuse Ben.
Roger was eventually hired by DHARMA, presumably through the influence of Horace Goodspeed. He was none too happy at being assigned workman duties, and this only caused him to take out his rage on Ben all the more. Life on the Island was eternally miserable for father and son.
Ben eventually exacted his revenge for years of torment. Roger was one of many victims of the Purge. His corpse remained inside his familiar DHARMA van for the next 12 years, until he was finally discovered by Vincent and Hurley.
Truly a sad end to a sad life.
Kelvin Inman
You could say Kelvin Inman suffered from a case of extraordinarily bad timing.
After a fruitful military career that included blackmailing Sayid to work as a translator, Inman left the sunny sands of Iraq for the whispering jungles of the Island. This was in late 1991 or early 1992, mere months before the Purge would wipe out nearly every DHARMA member on the island.
Inman survived because he, along with Stuart Radzinsky, was isolated inside the Swan Station. He would continue to dwell there for another decade, pushing buttons every 108 minutes we imagine. When he wasn't plugging in the numbers, Inman busied himself finishing Radzinky's map and trying to repair a sailboat so as to escape the Island for good. He was fortunate never to attract the attention of the Others, who likely never knew about the Swan in the first place.
Unfortunately, Inman's luck ran out when Desmond stumbled across the Island. Inman saw his chance to pass the burden of the numbers to someone else. However, as the two men fought on the beach, Inman cracked his skull on a jagged rock and died. It's just as well. Desmond proved you need more than a good boat to leave the Island.
Horace Goodspeed
Horace Goodspeed is a mathematician who rose to a high rank in DHARMA. Many of the Island residents turn to Horace for leadership and guidance, though he rarely seems to have the answers. In truth, Horace is an emotional wreck who makes a habit of getting drunk and chucking dynamite through the protective fence that isolates DHARMA from the Hostiles.
Horace is also a facilitator, as he helped both Roger Linus and Jim LaFleur gain employment on the island. Had he lived through the Purge, we suspect Horace might have regretted both those moves. (We don't want to speculate too much about how his actions, in concert with La Fleur's, may have sped up the time table on the Purge in some way. Or if our 815-ers are amongst the dead.)
Though he died along with his colleagues, Horace's influence remains. Locke encountered Horace in a dream, where the latter was dutifully chopping wood to build what would eventually become Jacob's cabin. Horace is obviously important to the Island enough so that it won't let him go just yet.
Stuart Radzinsky
Not all DHARMA members are well adjusted and pleasant. Stuart Radzinsky is perhaps the most abrasive personality on the island.
Eccentric and paranoid, he resents anyone nosing in on his important work. This work includes designing the Swan Station, home of the infamous 108-minute countdown clock. While in 1977, the station is little more than a set of blueprints and an unfinished model. Eventually the station will be built, and Radzinsky will helm it.
Once Radzinsky moved to the Swan, his paranoid tendencies began to get the better of him. Word 'round the campfire is, he was the original painter of the glowing map on the blast door. He edited footage out of the Swan orientation film. His every action at this point seems to suggest that he wanted the Swan's future occupants to attempt contact with the outside world.
Whatever his motives, Radzinsky eventually got too crazy for his own good. He blew his brains out with a shotgun, leaving a blood splatter on the ceiling that Desmond would eventually point out to the other castaways. And not as a decorative pattern to spice up the place.
Oldham
Oldham is a mysterious old man who apparently lives apart from the rest of the DHARMA staff. As Sawyer said to Sayid, "He's our you". Meaning – Oldham is a man who specializes in torture and interrogation...via LSD-soaked sugar cubes?
The security crew were forced to bring Sayid to Oldham when Ben's Bourne refused to talk. Oldham administered a strange hallucinogenic drug to Sayid, which caused him to start giggling and revealing random details of his strange time on the Island. These ramblings were little more than gibberish to the others, but it's hard to say what Oldham made of it.
Regardless, it's likely his skills will be called upon again as tensions between DHARMA and the Hostiles heat up.
Gerald and Karen DeGroot
The DHARMA Initiative was conceived by a group of scientists working at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Chief among these researchers were Gerald and Karen DeGroot.
This husband and wife duo hoped DHARMA could be an organization where scientists and thinkers of all types could come together and work for the betterment of the world.
Other than that, little is known about the duo. They can be glimpsed in a few of the DHARMA orientation videos, implying they have visited the Island before. But did they live there? Did they survive the Purge? As with many things in Lost, the answers are not forthcoming.
Pierre Chang
Pierre Chang is possibly the most important DHARMA member on the Island.
He leads the research into the mysterious pocket of energy under what will eventually become the Orchid Station, and he seems to have a deep appreciation for the danger it holds. (He's also not a fan of wannabe transporter room accident-esque clone bunnies occupying the same space, but then again who is?)
Chang is also responsible for hosting the numerous orientation videos on the Island, where he often introduces himself with pseudonyms like "Dr. Marvin Candle" and "Dr. Edgar Haliwax". Chang was first glimpsed by the castaways in person when he helped Jack register for his new job as a janitor. He seemed to be in good general spirits then. It wouldn't last.
Chang also hosted a informal video, where he confessed to knowing specific details of life in the 21st Century, including George W. Bush's presidency and the existence of the Internet. He also knew about the imminent Purge, though he claimed to be powerless to stop it. It stands to reason that Chang received his information from LaFleur, Faraday, or one of the other castaways.
The real question is – will his video testimonial succeed in its goal? Can Chang keep DHARMA's mission alive for future generations?
Now that he is a member of DHARMA, what do you think about Sawyer? | ||