Luck, Fate, and Destiny (AKA: A dead black cat, LOST, and Battlestar Galactica)

It has been quite awhile since I last posted on Zandrea, but I am back and full of questions for our blog readers and the universe. I am not sure if the “universe” reads blogs, but for the sake of this entry lets pretend that the universe is personified and sitting at her/his laptop with a cup of coffee and a mind eager for reading about my inner most thoughts.

This morning as I was walking to work I tripped on a stick which somehow jumped into the air and landed on its end and I as my motion continued the stick jabbed into my left calf muscle which made me scream (because it hurt) and then right next to me I saw a dead black cat which had been crushed by a car. I was dealing with the stick induced leg pain when I saw the gross dead animal but as I progressed down the street I forgot the pain and thought of the cat. I know that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck, but what about “stumbling” upon a dead black cat? It felt ominous and I am pretty sure that something bad will happen now. But what? I will keep you posted.

As I was thinking about luck, I thought about two of my favorite television programs: LOST and Battlestar Galactica. Both shows deal with luck, fate, and destiny. Last night on Battlestar Galactica, Starbuck came face-to-face with her destiny. She did not want to, she did not choose to be special, she just wants to fly vipers and think dreamy thoughts about Lee Adama, but she has a destiny that must be acknowledged. So, it appears that she was blown to bits, BUT clearly she is not dead, I mean she is kind of the star of the show. So, the question is: how is she not dead? And who was “channeling” Leoben? Clearly she is a cylon and in a future episode will emerge gasping from one of those cylon mucus baths. Any BG fans out in the Zandrea audience? I would love to hear what others think. I have been waiting all season for another of the “5” remaining cylons to manifest and I think it is happening. (Though I was hoping it would be Madame President…)

I do not even know where to begin with LOST. Yeah, I still have the same questions I had a year ago; What is the Dharma Initiative? How did Locke end up in a wheelchair? Who is Alvar Hanso? What do they feed Vincent? Who are the Others? Where the hell are they? Last week’s episode offered a strong dose of comic relief (thank you Hurley and Sawyer) but still was full of questions about luck, fate, and destiny. Was Hurley cursed? Do we make our own luck? Do we have pre-ordained destinies? No clear answers, but that’s cool. LOST seems to frustrate many viewers, but not me. Fans tune in each week looking for answers yet end up with more questions. But for me, the show is about escapism. What is more liberating than imagining being on a creepy deserted island with seemingly mystical powers and village of Others who steal children and blackmail you into performing complex spinal surgery? Oh, and the polar bears. What are polar bears doing on a Pacific island? Any LOST fans reading this blog? If so, please send along your theories about the island. I believe they are playing a game and are not really on an island but rather are “lost” in space (Battlestar Galactica style) and have no way home and our “losties” are plugged into an elaborate virtual reality game where they choose characters (doctor, convict, junkie, crazy French lady, etc.); location (uncharted island); and goal (two teams compete to see who can survive) and I think the show we are watching is the “competition” of the two groups (Others versus 815 survivors). I think they are just passing time while they are lost in space. I like to imagine that the last episode will be Jack alone on the island (the final survivor) where he starts to hear his name being called out in the distance, over and over again until he wakes up out of the game and is patted on the back by Sawyer who congratulates him for playing a great game. The final scene would be the lost group planning their next game. I realize there are many “holes” in this theory. Not sure how the flashbacks fit (maybe they are character backstories the players get) or which team Rousseau would be on, but it is a theory in development.

Oh well.

Zandrea readers: please send along your luck, fate, and destiny stories/questions as well as any commentary on my favorite TV shows.