The Scrabbled: Making Fun of Each Other since '99

First of all, if you haven’t seen this DHARMA-related youtube video, watch it now for some background info:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-eHEYswgK8

This video explains that the numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) are the numerical values to the core environmental and human factors of the Valenzetti Equation. Hanso talks about the purpose of the DHARMA Initiative being to change the value of any one of the core factors in the equation in order to give humanity a chance at survival (because changing one of these numbers would change the result of the equation, which could put off the end of humanity).

In the last part of the video (which is supposed to be from 2006), Mittelwerk talks about how they’ve have failed to change the values through manipulating the environment at that point. So, as of 2006, the original numbers are still the numbers.

HOWEVER! I believe that some event has changed one of the numbers. As we’re all aware, Lost has a history of blatantly inserting the numbers all over the place in the show. Here’s what got me thinking…

I first noticed it when Ben dropped off Locke’s body at the butcher’s shop. He took a ticket at the counter and it was number 342. The 42 is obvious, but why 3? I immediately thought, “any other time that would’ve been ticket 423 or 816 – so what’s up with the 3?” Then a couple weeks later, they took flight 316 back to the island. Again, a 3 blatantly paired with one of the other numbers. Then I discovered that earlier in the season when Kate stopped for gas with Aaron in the car, the price of gas was $3.42. Once again, 3 showing up clearly juxtaposed with an intentional use of one of the other numbers.

So, when I had some free time (which is pretty much all the time I’m at work) I scoured the Lostpedia pages about each of the 6 numbers where they catalog the references to each number in every episode of the show. I looked specifically for occurrences of each number in scenes during the 2007/2008 portion of the show’s timeline (since the Mittelos video indicated that nothing had changed as of 2006). My goal was to find one of the original numbers no longer showing up in typcially blatant Lost number insertions.

42 checked out all over the place. It was the house number on Kate’s street address (on the note in the pocket of the man Sayid darted in the hospital), it was included in both 342 references mentioned above (butcher shop ticket, gas price), among other places.

23 was similarly present. Ben mentions meeting at slip 23 at the marina, Widmore wanted Locke to dial 23 on the phone he gave him upon his return, etc.

For 16 we need look no further than flight 316 back to the island. Hell, it was in an episode title!

8 and 15 are still showing up as well – flight 316 left from gate 15 and Jack & Ben sat in row 8 on the flight, 8:15 was listed as the time of death for the man Sayid killed at Santa Rosa, Sun was at gate 15 when arriving in LA, and so on.

This bring us to our old friend 4. There have been plenty of four references in seasons four and five, but the first thing I noticed was that the vast majority were in flashbacks and time jumps to scenes prior to 2007. And the few 4 references that occurred in 2007/2008 scenes were extremely weak and questionable references. For example, in previous seasons we’d see plenty of fours showing up clearly paired with other numbers (423 Cheyne Walk, 4:8:15 on Eko’s stick, 4:16 time of crash for 815). But it seems that all the #4 references listed on Lostpedia in the recent part of the timeline are likely not intentional references to the numbers – things like “4 people went to see Eloise Hawking” and “the swinging pendulum in Ms. Hawking’s lab passes the camera 4 times” and “When riding the elevator to meet Sun, Kate tells Aaron to push the button Three One. (3+1=4)”. These seem like Lostpedia editors stretching to find fours rather than conscious decisions by the writers to make reference to the numbers.

So what I’m obviously getting at here is that I think some event that took place in 2007 or 2008 has caused 4 to be replaced by 3. This raises two clear questions:
1) What was the event that caused it?
2) What are the implications of one of the numbers changing?

For possible answers to the first question, I can offer two possible guesses. My first guess is that Locke’s death somehow caused it. It certainly seemed to be a very important event. My second guess is that it was some action taken by Desmond (perhaps that we’ve not yet seen on the show). I say this only because Faraday has hinted that “the rules” don’t seem to apply to Desmond which indicates to me that Desmond may be the only one with the power to actually change or influence the course of time in a meaningful way.

Now for the second question – the implications of the numbers changing… Well, given what Alvar Hanso has told us, it would seem that perhaps the date of doomsday has now been altered. Aside from that, I really have no answers about this – just more questions. Has anyone realized yet that the numbers changed? Did Mrs. Hawking realize it, and if so why did the Losties still have to go back to the island?

Hopefully I can to stimulate some discussion here and maybe we can figure out what this means.